“The most important thing for a child is to feel safe and secure. If that has been taken away from the child, it is up to the parents and adults to bring them back to being children again,” UNICEF
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Every kid has the basic need to be loved and protected, to feel safe and to be able to enjoy childhood. Adults need to try their best to ensure that the children are happy and healthy through positive messages about themselves. Adults also need to help children to manage how they feel and express their feelings when they want to: love and support is what is going to help children the most. The only challenge would be: who to call and where to go.
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We must help the kid to think about the people he/she trust and feel safe around them. These people could be their: mum, dad, caregiver, adult friend, adult neighbor, grandma, grandad, teacher, auntie or uncle, or an older brother or sister.
It is also very important to tell the kids that they should always contact more than one safe adult in case they don't feel safe.
Then help them to think about other people who he/she may not know, because they are not a family member, but you think he/she can be a Safe Adult because of the job that they do. They may be: policemen or policewomen, the welfare coordinator at school, the minister or leader of the church, temple or synagogue, his/hers parents' friends, his/ her friends' parents, a doctor, etc.
It is also very important to tell the kids that they should always contact more than one safe adult in case they don't feel safe.
Then help them to think about other people who he/she may not know, because they are not a family member, but you think he/she can be a Safe Adult because of the job that they do. They may be: policemen or policewomen, the welfare coordinator at school, the minister or leader of the church, temple or synagogue, his/hers parents' friends, his/ her friends' parents, a doctor, etc.
Help your kid to fill the blanks with the names and phone numbers of the 5 Safe Persons they chose. It would be a good moment to talk about what is a Safe Person and why would the kid consider those 5 persons safe.
Once you are finished, keep the Safety Hand in a place that is easily accessed by the kid.
Download and create your own safety hand here:
| safe_hand_full_logos.pdf |