As most of you know I work full time as a registered nurse at a psychiatric hospital for children. As you can imagine I have dealt with many children who are traumatized from sexual abuse.
As parents we like to tell ourselves that this will not happen to our children. After all we are careful and observant. Sadly sometimes this is not enough. While parents attempt to protect their children from getting hurt or abused sometimes we are unsuccessful.
You can look at some statistics at Darkness to light. Darkness to Light is an organization who provides information and prevention ideas regarding sexual abuse. Their statistics are quite scary. They say that 1 out of every 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. Those are staggering numbers!
One recommendation for preventing sexual abuse is TALKING about it. Lets be honest though how comfortable are most parents with discussing sexual abuse with our children. This is a hard, but I think that the hardest part would be introducing the topic.
Jill Starishevsky, who wrote "My Body Belongs to Me," makes the introduction a lot easier. This book is geared toward 3 to 10 year olds, but I for one have already started reading it to my 21 month old. Sexual abuse can start at any age and I want my child to be aware that someone touching her "private parts" is NOT okay!
This book provides necessary information to your child about what to do if someone touches his/her "private parts." In addition to the story Jill also provides parents with suggestions on how to use this book, why she thinks it is important, and some organizations available to help with both prevention and abuse.
My opinion . . .
I think that this book is a must have for all parents. The most important thing as a parent is keeping our children safe and teaching them about the dangers in the world. This book will be an excellent resource in doing just that!
Buy it: http://www.MyBodyBelongsToMe.com/
(I did receive a copy of "My Body Belongs to Me" for review purposes. No other compensation was received for this review)
6 comments:
I agree this is such an important topic that is often swept under the rug due to embarassment or simply being afraid to "go there" with our little ones.
My husband and I recently had a discussion on what we would raise our son to call his private parts. We agreed we would use the anatomical names (p.enis, sc.rotum, etc.) in case something were to ever happen where he would be touched, it would be easier if he could tell us the exact parts involved and not just a vague nickname.
Thanks for raising awareness about this issue.
This seems like a great book that all parents should have. Also, as a teacher, I think we should be encouraged to stress to our kids that it is not ok for anyone to touch them. It looks like this book would be helpful in teaching that lesson.
Wish this kind of book was around a lot of years ago. Glad it is out now.
I think this book is amust have.
It was written for children to understand and make it easier for them to talk about it.
Wow, I never really even thought about talking about it to my children. This is a book I'm going to have to get! Thank you for sharing it with us.
This book would be a great way to start talking to a child about sexual abuse without scaring them. I never know how to approach serious topics with my 2-year-old without frightening her but at the same time getting through to her. Thanks for the review and a reminder on those staggering statistics.
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