Friday, December 13, 2013
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Bubble Wrap- Ideas for keeping your kids safe
BUBBLE WRAP by Kimberly King.
Author of “I SAID NO!”
Sometimes, no matter how safe you think your
friends are…there really is no way to know how other parents will handle these
types of situations. It is impossible to know what type of parents they might
be behind closed doors.
I blamed myself for this night because I
left my two children in the care of a good friend.
My choices were limited as I tried to handle
an emergency with my new baby. I assumed my friend would take care of my
children in the same manner that I had cared for hers. As a result, my child
was traumatized by a very long and unpleasant night. I realized that morning
that a sexual abuse attempt had knocked at my door. And, I let it in! I felt so
guilty and angry! I was so proud and amazed by my son and the safety plan he
developed during that night. I never told him that this type of thing could
happen with a friend. And, I did not explain to him the techniques sexual
abusers us to get their victims to cooperate. The books we read didn’t cover
that. I didn’t think I needed to explain
to my 5 year old what a threat, bribe, blackmail, peer pressure and
manipulation were. Sadly, this is the reality! We cannot prevent everything
from happening in our world. We can’t roll them up in bubble wrap and keep them
in the house. Sometimes, I really wish I
could because this would eliminate all of my various panics and trips to the
doctor’s office and ER! But we can limit
the chances our children will experience something like a very bad sleepover by
studying up on this topic with our children.
Education and awareness are key for parents
as they attempt to keep their children safe. Please visit the non-profit
organization “darkness 2 light” and read about the 7 steps for parents on
sexual abuse prevention. Read and research! www.d2l.org
What can you do right now, aside from bubble wrap?
1. Limit the exposure that your child has to
other
children or adults without your presence.
2. Think carefully about the safety of any
one-adult/one-child situations.
v Not only do you need to prepare you children for the possible
dangers of adults. But, they need to know that this type of thing can happen
with friends, at school, on the bus, at a team sport event, or day car.
v The chances are it will be a friend or somebody they know and
trust.
v Choose group situations when possible. This goes
for tweens and teens. Your children are always safer with a buddy or a group.
v Think carefully about the safety of situations in
which older children have access to younger children. Make sure that multiple
adults are present who can supervise.
v Set an example by personally avoiding
one-adult/one-child situations with children other than your own. If you do
have a play date or sleepover keep a constant eye on all children and do not
allow play behind closed doors.
2. Accept your child will be curious
and that is healthy and normal.
* Encourage your child to ask questions.
* Teach your child age appropriate lessons on the
body and human sexuality.
* By accepting that children’s natural curiosity
about sexuality and gender differences as normal and healthy, parents build a
basis for positive attitudes toward sexuality. Parents can then teach their
children how to recognize real danger.
* Use scenario discussions and role-playing to
clarify what is appropriate and with whom. BE SPECIFIC!
Together with my son we started keeping a
journal to recover from this bad night. We soon realized that our story needed
to be told to help other kids. “I Said No” a kid-to-kid guide to keeping your
private parts was born. Our book defines the safe boundaries of private parts
in a non- icky way. We discuss various scenarios that a child might encounter.
We talk about how to deal with inappropriate behavior, bribes, and threats.
Children learn that sexual abuse is NEVER their fault. I encourage all parents,
educators, coaches, day care providers, babysitters, or anybody that cares for
children to take the “STEWARDS FOR CHILDREN” training offered on the darkness
to light website. It is a powerful training tool. Please visit our new blog: www.sexualabuseprevention.blogspot.com or our website www.kid2kidpublishing.com
Please visit www.bouldenpublishing.com for more information on our book and other self help books for children on various emotional topics.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Our book
Today I had an interview with Mark Rawlison from Max Media. We taped an interview that will play on Sunday morning shows at 6:30am on Eagle 97.3 FM, WAVE 92.9FM, HOT 100.5FM, ESPN 94.1 and 1310 WGH AM. The interview went great! My first interview was last night. I talked with Caroline from Sex in Van City. She does a show on human sexuality and sex education. We talked at 1:00 am in the morning! It was a late night. But, well worth it for so much exposure to the mission of education parents and children on sexual abuse prevention. To purchase our book and many other helpful books on various topics that deal with children and their emotional health and welfare please go to www.bouldenpublishing.com
Our book is for sale on
If you have read our book we would love your feedback!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)