Today is the day I get to start talking to parents about sexual abuse. Today is the day I get to empower kids to honor and respect their bodies. Today is the day that I tell parents to teach their kids about sexual touching and to tell them that no one has the right to touch them in this way.
Today is the day that I tell parents that the only thing worse than finding out that your child has been sexually abused, is not finding out. Today is the day that I ask parents to be a safe harbor for their kids, to be there for them, to stand up for them, and to be a safe person for them to talk to.
Today is the day that I tell parents that the best time for kids to hear this information is before they experience abuse. Today is the day that I tell them that the best day to start is today. Today is the day that I ask them to talk to their kids, whether they are boys or girls, teenagers or toddlers. Today is the best day to start.
Today is the day that I offer parents a tool and children a voice. Today I will be talking about Some Secrets Hurt on Studio 5. It airs at 11:00 a.m., on KSL (channel 5).
I hope you'll be watching. And, if today is not a good day for you, how about tomorrow. The Studio 5 segment will be available on my website, www.somesecretshurt.com, later this week.
Linda Garner
7 comments:
A topic that I am very passionate about, after two year doing child abuse investigations.
Congrats on the book release!
Congratulations! I'm sure it will be great!
Ooh, I've read this comment at 10:30 ... we'll be sure to watch it at 11:00!
It made me happy to see that you included toddlerhood even in there. Some of my friends criticized me for my decision to talk to my children about sex and sexual abuse as soon as they started asking questions which was pretty darn young. They would ask innocent questions and I would answer with similarly toned but truthful answers.
My little boys were molested when they were two and a half years old and they did not tell. I only found out after the fact. Now, I'm not sure how much they would have been able to tell since they weren't big talkers at that point, but even a couple years later they still didn't want to admit what had happened because they loved the perpetrator and there was so much confusion in their little hearts.
Now, I think honesty and an environment of safe disclosure is the best policy for my family. Thank you for backine m up on that!
Good luck!
You go, Ali. The best day to talk to your kids about sexual abuse is today. Toddlers are not too young to learn how to honor and respect their bodies. Even babies have been victims of sexual abuse.
Thanks for your support MeganRebekah and L.T.
Woo Hoo! You go Linda!
As you know, our family too feels this is an important issue that needs to be addressed and not skirted under the covers. Way to go!
We watched the show today. Then we rewatched it when dad and McKelle got home from the school. Amanda's comment was "We have that book" she was so excited. It was hard to keep her quite through the whole thing though. I will rewatch it with Nate later.
Great education here. At the start of every school year I review the whole "touching privates" (etc) talk with my kids. Each year they are a little older and hopefully understand a little bit more.
So glad books like this one are out there! The more tools in the hands of parents, the better.
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