“A serious talk with parents about children’s safety”

“A Serious TALK” is the first project of the Child Dignity Center dedicated to children’s safety explicitly aimed at parents. According to the study “Sexual Violence in Ukraine”, 46% of Ukrainian adults believe that sex education is necessary for children younger than 8, and 92% support its implementation for children aged 14 and older. But what should it look like?

Talk #1: “The body’s safety is a top topic from age 4. How are personal boundaries formed?”

• Why is sex education about safety?
• Why should we talk about sex education starting from preschool?
• Prevention of sexual violence: presentation of statistical data from the study “Sexual Violence Against Children: From Awareness to Protection”.
• Trust in an adult. Why is it worth working on building communication with a child from an early age?
• Privacy rules: formation of the child’s personal boundaries. Why is it important for adults to listen to children’s wishes in their personal space?

Talk #2: “Answering awkward questions”

• Why is it important for parents to be a child’s primary source of information?
• How should one initiate a conversation on intimate topics with a child in elementary school?
• Why is it important to calmly respond to a child’s questions?
• How should parents behave if the conversation has reached a dead end?

Talk #3: “Hot Chocolate Talk: Adolescence and Personal Safety”

• Why is it important not to censor conversations about intimate things in communication with a child?
• Parents Vs. Teens: Talking about hushed-up things about your childhood.
• The most frequent questions that interest adolescents.
• Questions that concern parents: How not to be shy when talking to a teenager?

A selection of our first series of discussions explicitly aimed at parents. It should be helpful for anyone working with children.