Teach children how to protect themselves in dangerous situations

 

Identify bad people and dangerous situations through safety rules

Research from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) shows that in the two years 2020-2021, more than 90% of child abuse cases come from family members. Thus, the culprit can be anyone, a stranger, an acquaintance, a relative, even a grandparent, a parent. Children are not only abused mentally, physically, isolated from everyone around, or lured away, touched by sensitive parts... but do not know it and consider it a normal thing and don't tell your parents.

Therefore, it is difficult to explain to children exactly who is the bad guy. Moreover, many experts have also shown that scaring or telling children too much negative information will lead to panic and confusion. Instead of trying to tell children who is bad, according to Kristin Wegner - Advisor, Student Support Coordinator and Head of School Safety at Saigon Pearl International School (ISSP) in Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, set up Set up a clear and understandable system of safety rules for children, anyone who violates this rule and makes children feel uncomfortable can be bad people, immediately the child's subconscious will turn on alert mode. .

Ms. Kristin said some safety rules that every child should know include: Your body is yours, no one can touch it without your consent; no one is allowed to hurt children mentally, leave them hungry or hurt; No one is allowed to take their children anywhere or do anything with them without consulting their parents. In particular, you should trust your body's expressions, when your body has strange symptoms such as: heart palpitations, forehead and palms sweat, goosebumps, stomach upset, wanting to cry... when That needs to be told immediately to the people you trust.

Ms. Kristin Wegner in a conversation with ISSP students.
"Teaching children to trust their body sensations is one of the important topics in our lectures at ISSP. This is a method that both helps children be more proactive in identifying dangerous situations and not at all. lose the innocence of the right age of children when they have to receive too much negative information provided by adults." - Kristin explained further.

Calmness is the key

The more confused and frightened the child is, the easier it is for the perpetrator to approach and control the child. To help children practice calm, in Kristin's opinion, the most effective way is to expose children to real-life situations. "When talking to students of the American standard ISSP International School, I always ask very specific questions, for example: When someone gives you candy and asks you to follow, how do you react?; who what will they do first?... then, depending on their age, I will guide students in appropriate responses, for example keeping a distance from the opponent, shouting loudly Letting people know. Putting children in such hypothetical situations will help them learn how to react when in danger."

With the view that "prevention is better than cure", Ms. Nguyen Thu Hien (District 10, Ho Chi Minh City) shared: "I always take advantage of every moment in my life to talk to my daughter. For example, going to the supermarket. I will show my child who is a security guard, which is an employee and remind him that those are the people he can ask for help if he gets lost.At home, I often teach him how to use the phone and play with him With these skills, when in trouble, I believe even at a very young age, your child will remain calm and use what he already knows to seek help."

Kristin added that it is good for children to learn martial arts or defense postures to improve their health, but parents also remind their children not to mistakenly think that their children are safe, or can resist by themselves. of children cannot be compared with adults. In fact, some very instinctive methods such as keeping your distance, being assertive, or shouting for help are effective ways to help your child out of dangerous situations.