Teach a child the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it.–Proverbs 22:6
Research conducted by our correspondent concludes that approximately 1 in 6 boys and 1 in 4 girls are sexually abused before the age of 18, child abuse in play.
This will shock you, do you know 10% of perpetrators were strangers to the child while 23% of the perpetrators were their peers?
Many of them are under five years old. Almost all of them knew their perpetrator due to familiarity and more often than not, it is another kid.
Note the following ‘IFs’
- If your child goes more often to Neighbours’ house to play.
- If your children go on playdates.
- If you have friends or family who come over to your house?
- If your child makes use of the school bus.
- If your child sleeps over in a friend’s house
If these above IFs are what is not strange In your houses then you can prevent 100% child sexual abuse.
As some of the IFs, above can’t be prevented out-rightly from happening, there has to be a way out.
Education is the way out. Bible says “Teach your child the way to go and when they grow they won’t depart from it”.
The following are the ways to Sexually teach your children. No age from 5 is too early to learn.
1)Teach them that some of their body parts are private– Show your child their private parts and let them realise they are called private parts because they are not for everyone to see. Explain that mommy and daddy can see them naked, but people outside their home should only see them with their clothes on. Explain that their doctors can only see them without their clothes on when mommy and daddy are there with them and the doctor is checking their body for treatments or checkup.
ALSO READ:-Teach your child the way to go when young.Part 1..What teaching?
2)Tell your child that body secrets are prohibited– Most perpetrators will tell the child victim not to disclose any abuse and should be kept secret. They do it in a friendly way, e.g, “I love playing with you, but if you tell anyone else about how we played they won’t let me come play with you again.” Or it can be a threat like this: “This is our secret. If you tell anyone I will tell them it was your idea and you started it.and you will get in big trouble!” Tell your kids that no matter what anyone tells them, body secrets will not help and they should always disclose it if someone tries to make them keep a body secret.
3)Talk and teach about their body parts early. Teach and name body parts and talk about them very early in their lives. Use proper names for body parts, or at least teach your child what the actual words are for their body parts. Can you believe some children called their vagina “bottom.”? Feeling comfortable using these words should be encouraged and knowing when to use them will help a child talk clearly if something inappropriate happens to them.
4)Teach your child body intrusion boundaries. Tell your child point-blank that no one should touch their private parts and that no one should ask them to touch somebody else’s private parts. Sexual abuses often start with the perpetrator asking the child to touch them and in-turn give same favour back.
ALSO READ:-Teach your child the way to go.(Graphic Video)
5)Have a password your children can use when they feel unsafe or want to be picked up by a visitor. As children get older, you can arm them with a code or password that they can use for interrogation when they are feeling unsafe. This can be used at home, when there are guests in the house, at school, or when they are on a play date or a sleepover. Tell them the password is a secret between the child and parents
6)Teach your child that nobody should take pictures of their private parts. Tell your kids that no one should ever take pictures of their private parts. As our world is full of pedophiles who love to take and sell pictures of naked children online. This is an epidemic and it puts our child at risk.
7)Tell your child that no body touch or tickles. Teach your child that tickling or body touch must not be allowed from strangers or even from any family member unreasonably.
I am not saying these discussions will absolutely prevent sexual abuse, but knowledge is a powerful deterrent, especially with young children who are targeted due to their innocence and ignorance in this area. Kindly share this to the loved one, as it will help a great deal.
We shall update with more on this Topic In PART 3. Subscribe to our updates and receive more.
