We teach our children water safety and road safety — it is equally important to teach our children ‘body safety’ and personal boundaries from a very young age. Personal boundaries are the physical, emotional and mental limits we establish to protect ourselves from being manipulated, used, or abused by others. Boundaries allow us to separate who we are and what we think and feel, from the thoughts and feelings of others. - https://www.essentiallifeskills.net/personalboundaries.html |
It is very important to teach your child that no one has the right to touch or ask to see their private parts, and if someone does, they must communicate to you, a trusted adult or older teenager straightaway. Reinforce that they must keep on telling until they are believed (statistics tell us that a child will need to tell three people before they are believed). As your child becomes older, help them to identify five people they could tell - 5 Safe Person - Click here to learn more.
Learning to say no has valuable repercussions in many areas of the children’s lives:
Learning to say no has valuable repercussions in many areas of the children’s lives:
- For protection: teaching a kid to say no, is closely related to increase the child’s personal safety. We need to teach kids to say no if their wellbeing or security is threatened in any way.
- To maintain identity: frequently, kids are asked to do many things in life, some good, some not so good. By teaching children to say no, allows them to regulate their own actions, define personal preferences and adhere to their own opinions.
- To develop a positive self-image. The ability to respectfully and confidently stand up for oneself contributes to good self-esteem. Saying no is also an assertive tool that helps to develop strength and independence