Protecting Preschoolers from Abuse

Protecting Preschoolers from Abuse...
by Toni Liebman, M.S.

Young children have an overwhelming need to feel safe and secure in their environment, and we, the adults, have the responsibility to make certain this happens.

In the past few years, incidents of child abuse have been widely reported in the media, raising concerns as to how to protect our children against being victimized. (Child abuse includes any type of physical, mental, or emotional injury inflicted deliberately on children. When the injury involves the exploitation of a child for sexual gratification, it is considered sexual abuse.) We need to face the issues squarely, but we must proceed with caution.

While we aim to instruct our preschoolers about child abusers who can harm them, we must guard against terrifying them with tales of an “evil world.” Children need warm, caring people to hug and cuddle them, and we don’t want to alarm them with the idea that every loving person is a potential sexual abuser.

What Parents Can do to Prevent Abuse:
- Supervise your preschooler as he plays–get to know his/her friends & their parents & be careful in choosing a child care program or babysitter
- Build your child’s self-esteem–give them affection & teach them how to dress and feed themselves
- Foster open communication with your youngster–teach them that they can always tell you about unusual situations and that it is wrong for an adult to ask them to keep secrets
- Teach your children to develop pride in their bodies–help them to understand that they can say “no” to any physical advances
- Play the “What If?” game–talk out possible solutions to situations

Children need to feel safe and have a fundamental belief in the goodness of humanity. They also need to build a healthy, age-appropriate sense of independence at every stage in their growth. Also, we can help them learn to protect themselves from those FEW who would seek to hurt or exploit them. It is not an easy task, but a healthy balance can be achieved by thoughtful, well-informed parents.