Talking to Children: Scary News
A high profile case in your community can leave parents feeling panicked and helpless. It is important to remember that children respond to your tone and your unspoken messages. Instead of having your children worry about the unknown of what is being unsaid, this is a good time to reinforce safety rules and see if there are any new questions that this recent case may bring up for them. Let your children know that you are there to listen and help them solve problems. The ultimate goal is for children to get proactive and reassuring messages from their caregivers with questions instead of seeking out incomplete answers from kids on the playground.
Don’t assume that your child has or has not been a target of this particular offender. Explain that sometimes people break the rules about keeping kids safe and that other grown-ups are going to work hard to make things better for the people that were hurt. Graphic details are NOT helpful for children. Scared kids are not smarter kids.
You can remind your children that most people want kids to grow up healthy and happy, but that there are people out there who do break body safety rules. Sadly, people who break safety rules are usually people we know and often are people that we like.
This is a good time to remind your child that questions about body safety are welcome at any time. If someone does break a body safety rule they have the right to say no and ask for help right away. Even if a child doesn’t say no, because they are scared or confused, it still isn’t the child’s fault and they can still ask for help. Identify with the child the safety net of adults they have in their life that they can go to with a problem. Point out all of the people working to make this particular problem better. Most people want to keep kids safe.
Avoid asking about one particular person. If a specific suspect is brought up by your child and your child has a sudden shift in behavior or brings up past problems with this individual, don’t grill them about details or push for answers. Call the police agency who is investigating the case and ask about having a trained interviewer talk to your child.
If your child does report that they have been abused or targeted:
- Allow the child to talk if they want to, but don’t press for details.
- Report to the authorities.
- Let the child know that they didn’t do anything wrong.
Hopefully, your child knows the names for their private parts, how private parts are different from the rest of their body, and that all people have the right to set limits about their bodies. This recent story can be a chance to review and refresh long lasting lessons. If this is a first-time chat, please know you don’t have to cover everything at once. Bring up conversations and scenarios intentionally, over time, knowing that education is power. Offer book resources to your child so that personal body safety is as accessible to them as preventing any other danger. Wrap up your chats by letting them know they can come to you with questions about things they may hear about this story or other stories so that they can walk around smart and not scared.
About the Authors
Both books, titled “On Those Runaway Days” and “I Can Play It Safe”, use non-fear based messages, bright illustrations by Laura Logan, and up to date educational tools to help guide parents in those important connecting conversations.
The books were written by Ms. Feigh in a direct response to the number one question she receives from parents after completing a speaking presentation, “HOW can I have this conversation with my child when I get home?” Parents want to teach their children about personal body safety, but don’t want to scare their children. This book stays far away from fear-based education and instead features empowering text and an upbeat tone. The book is very parent-friendly with explanation letters in the front and parent prompts in the back.
A portion of sales on each book will be donated back to JWRC to support their educational programs, specifically targeted at personal body safety for children.
Jill Starishevsky is an Assistant District Attorney in New York City, where she has prosecuted hundreds of sex offenders and dedicated her career to seeking justice for victims of child abuse and sex crimes. Outside the courtroom, Jill’s fondness for writing led her to create thepoemlady.com, where she pens personalized pieces. Her mission to protect children, along with her penchant for poetry, inspired My Body Belongs to Me. A mother of two, Jill is also founder of HowsMyNanny.com, a service that enables parents to purchase a license plate for their child’s stroller so the public can report positive or negative nanny observations.
The book is edited by Nadine Block, a board member of the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center, and Madeleine Gomez, a clinical psychologist. They have spent decades studying the effects of physical punishment on children. They selected the drawings and essays for this book from materials created during child-involved parenting programs and from submissions to www.stophitting.org. The editors are parents and grandparents. All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center for its Center for Effective Discipline programs that teach positive discipline of children.
