One of the many ways that our children engage with the world is through play dates with other children. Safety begins with some simple family rules.
These body safety rules can be shared with friends and family so that everyone is on the same page:
when playing in a bedroom, the door needs to stay open
no touching someone’s private parts and no one touching your private parts
no photos/videos of private parts
we don’t keep secrets; if someone tells you to keep a secret tell a trusted adult
Here are some questions that you can ask your child to engage in as a “safety conversation” after a play date or party:
Did you enjoy yourself?
How did you spend your time?
What was your favourite part of the play date/party?
What was your least favourite part?
Did you feel safe?
Was there anything else you wanted to share?
This kind of debrief enables your child to share the good things about the play date, and may help them to tell you if something unwanted did happen.
As parents and caregivers, we’re always trying to be proactive. A simple family activity is to create play date rules together. You may be surprised that your children can complete this activity with very little support from you. This free resource, Body Safety Rules, will help get you started.
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