2. Blog

Educate your Kids about Good Touch and Bad touch

As adults and parents, we ought to take the onus for the safety of our little ones in all aspects of life and ensure that they have a happy childhood. While there is an increased awareness about the importance of emotional safety for children, we need to educate our kids about personal safety as well. Though it may be uncomfortable for some parents to have this discussion with their children, and some may feel that their children are too young to have this talk, it is vital to have a conversation with them about what is appropriate and inappropriate touch. This way, they will know what is acceptable and what is not - keeping them safe from harm.

What is the Right Time To Introduce The Concept Of Personal Safety?
Parents should take advantage of the opportunity to teach their children the accurate names of their body parts when they reach the toddler years (around 3 years old). By doing so, parents can help their children feel more comfortable and confident about their bodies as they grow.

Body awareness is an important aspect of early childhood development. By learning about and identifying their body parts, children can understand how their bodies work and how to take care of themselves. Placing mirrors in the home is a great way for infants and toddlers to view themselves and start exploring their bodies. You can also encourage body awareness by providing opportunities for children to care for their world through self-help activities like washing hands, folding clothes, and toilet training.

Learning about how our bodies communicate with each other is crucial for children's development. They need to know how to appropriately manage themselves, and boundaries with others through touch. Role-playing games using dolls and toy figures can help in identifying the right ways to touch people as well as help young children label and identify different body parts. This technique is beneficial in furthering their knowledge and skills in self-regulation, self-management, and the beginnings of independence and autonomy.

What is a good and bad touch?
Good touch and bad touch learnings, cannot be beaten around the bush. While we might be comfortable with subtly hinting at these things, it is important that we are direct about them.

Tell your children that a good touch is when it brings happy feelings, like when you're hugged and kissed by people you love. Bad touch is when it brings you discomfort or pain or makes you nervous or scared. If someone touches you against your will, or if you don't want to be touched, you need to tell your parents right away.

A parent is the child’s first teacher and their knowledge about touch is also received foremost from their parents. The earliest lessons learned by our children are feelings of security, being loved, and a sense of belonging.

We all have the right to control how our bodies are touched. As we develop an awareness of our bodies from a young age, we learn what types of touch are appropriate and which are not, with the guidance of our parents. Children who do not have this guidance may not know how to identify appropriate touch, which can leave them at risk for abuse.

Teaching our little ones to say no!
Encourage your children to voice their opinions and feelings. In the play, if anything makes them uncomfortable, they should feel empowered to speak out loud and say "Stop! I don't like this play." This will help them to understand that they have a choice in what happens to them and that they can stand up for themselves if something makes them feel uncomfortable. Children need to understand that when a person inappropriately touches them, it is never their fault. They should always raise their voice and share what happened with someone they trust.

Help them set boundaries
Teach your children that it is not okay to:

• Touch someone else’s private body parts
• Be in a situation where someone is touching his or her private body parts in front of you
• Be in a situation where someone asks you to take your clothes off except if they are a doctor helping to see if you are hurt or sick
• Have someone take photos or videos of you with your clothes off
• Have someone show you photos or videos of people without their clothes on

Everyone has the right to decide who they want to physically interact with and what kind of physical interactions they are comfortable with. If you don't want to be kissed, hugged, or touched, you have the right to say "no" and to have your wishes respected. As a parent, you should encourage and set an example for your child to talk openly about their feelings, likes, and dislikes without any judgment. Remind them often that you love them unconditionally and no matter what they do, that will never change. They should feel comfortable telling you about all their problems, big or small, without worrying about the consequences.