How to Talk to Kids About Abuse

During this month of April, as Child Abuse Prevention Month, it’s important to look within our own families to understand what we are doing to keep our kids safe.

We would all agree, there’s more than just one way to approach parenting and that includes educating our kids about abuse. Those of us who do this work professionally understand some parents believe in open discussions with their children about sexual misconduct, while others avoid direct conversations about it. At the same time, many parents struggle with what is age appropriate and which conversations are helpful when.

Because child abuse knows no borders, it’s interesting to look at a study published in 2023 based on data collected in Australia. Many of us have taught our kids that simple adage that if they are uncomfortable with something “tell someone you trust.” But, among other conclusions, it states that for children, expecting them “to identify trustworthy individuals may be beyond their cognitive ability and (may be) especially unreliable given that children often identify their family members as safe people.” The answer, in some cases, may be for children to tell multiple people, inside and outside of the family, when they have concerns.

The study also concludes that “adults, too, need support with content messaging around trust to promote understanding that even ‘good’ people can do abusive things.”

The takeaways for us here at CARE House are that our prevention education work may be more important than ever. Among other skills, our experts teach community members, including parents, about having these conversations with kids.

To find out how you can participate in or convene a training session, visit our website at: https://www.carehouse.org/training-community-outreach-programs, because as we all agree – it shouldn’t hurt to be child.

Sincerely,

Blythe Tyler

President & CEO