Empowering Students With Their Voice
In today’s world, we know empowering our students and providing them with a voice to speak out is paramount. Teaching these eight essential Body Safety Tips will provide your class with crucial skills to help keep them safe.
- From the earliest of years, encourage children to talk about their feelings. This way they will learn from a young age how to express, manage and understand their emotions. Allow time for them to tell you exactly how they are feeling, and listen with empathy and intent. Provide a ready bank of ‘feelings’ words beyond ‘happy’ and ‘sad.’
2. Talk about feeling ‘safe’ and ‘unsafe.’ Children find it hard to distinguish between the two. It is important they understand what it is to feel ‘unsafe,’ so if ever they are feeling this way at any time, they can talk to you or another trusted adult straight away. Explain that our body is amazing and when it feels ‘unsafe’ it always lets us know. For example, we might feel sick in the stomach or our heart might beat really fast. Tell children that these are called their Early Warning Signs. Reiterate that
if they do feel any of their Early Warning Signs, they need to tell a trusted adult straight away. Draw a body shape (or download this poster from www.e2epublishing.info/posters) and label their Early Warning Signs and discuss.
3. Allocate time for each child to choose up to five trusted adults that they could tell anything to, and they would be believed. These people are part of their Safety Network. One should not be a family member and all should be easily accessible by the child. Provide a large outline of a hand and have children draw a picture of each person on their Safety Network. Add labels and phone numbers. Note: Ensure these adults know they have been chosen and that it is an honour.
- Explain to the class that everyone has a body boundary. This is an invisible space around their body. No one should come inside their body boundary without them saying it’s okay (consent). Children have the right to say, ‘No,’ to kisses and hugs if they want to. They can always give a high five or blow a kiss instead. Have children outline their ‘invisible’ body boundary.
5. Teach children to respect another person’s body boundary also, and that they need to ask for consent before entering it. That means, for example, if they want to hold another child’s hand, they need to ask permission. And if that child says ‘No,’ they need to respect and accept that child’s wishes. Explain also that just because a person may say ‘Yes,’ to hand-holding or a hug, consent can be withdrawn at any time. See the children’s book, Let’s Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent and Respect for a more and in-depth look at consent.
6. Have children practice the empowering ‘pirate stance.’ That is, hands on hips, legs slightly apart, shoulders thrown back and head held high. This is a very empowering stance and should be practiced regularly. Once in the stance, each child can practice saying, ‘No!’ or ‘Stop! I don’t like that!’ Both these phrases are useful in bullying situations and also if anyone does try to touch their private parts. If a child can do this at 4 or 5 years old, then there is a good chance they will be able to do this at 13 or 14, and even into adulthood.
7. From day one, call the genitals by their correct names. Ensure the children know that their private parts (including the mouth) are private. Explain that private means ‘just for you.’ Tell the children that if anyone touches their private parts, asks them to touch their private parts or shows them pictures of private parts, they need to tell a trusted adult straightaway! They also have the right to say ‘No!’ or ‘Stop!’ before alerting an adult on their Safety Network. At this point, talk about ‘public’ and ‘private’ places. For example, the classroom is a public space but the toilet cubicle is a private space. Ensure the children know the difference.
8. Talk about the difference between secrets and surprises. Secrets can be asked to be kept for a long time, whereas surprises will always be told and are only kept for a short time. Discourage the keeping of secrets in the classroom and in their families. Explain we should use ‘happy surprises’ instead of secrets because happy surprises will always be told. Explain that if someone does ask them to keep a secret, they should tell that person that they don’t keep secrets. Reinforce that if someone does ask them to keep a secret that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable, they must tell an adult on their Safety Network straight away!
A few final hints!
- Encourage each family to decide on a ‘family word.’ For example, ‘pickles,’ so if a child is in an unsafe situation they can ring a family member and say ‘pickles’, which will alert that person to the fact that the child feels unsafe and needs to be collected immediately.
- Educate yourself in Body Safety. This includes signs of child sexual abuse and the grooming process.
- Encourage your child’s family to teach Body Safety! Hang a poster on display in your classroom and in family homes. It reminds children of the Body Safety Rules and it also sends a clear message to sexual predators that the children in this house are educated to tell!