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It’s summer! Time of relaxation, vacation, and… increased risk to children. HAVE YOU DONE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KEEP YOUR CHILDREN SAFE THIS SUMMER?
Along with vacation fun, summer brings heightened risks to children, says Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, Director of The Center for Jewish Family Life / Project Y.E.S. Children out of school are less supervised and often out of sight of parents, teachers, and other responsible adults. In camps and colonies, children are meeting a new circle of people. Kids are looking for adventure, for fun – and sometimes, for trouble.
So what can a parent do?
One of the most effective tools parents can use is to talk to their child about potentially dangerous situations that can come up. Says Rabbi Horowitz: “Current research has shown that even one conversation with a child about personal safety, and a moderate amount of follow up, makes children six to seven times more likely to protect themselves.”
That vital conversation with your child, though, has to be done correctly. “If a child gets frightened because the parent’s anxiety comes through too strongly, the child’s fear will lock him or her into forgetting the critical details of the conversation. On the other hand, if it’s too casual the child will not get the importance of the message.”
To facilitate this important, and potentially life-altering, dialogue, Project Y.E.S., in conjunction with ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, published Let’s Stay Safe, the groundbreaking children’s book whose sales have topped 27,000 copies. “Zei Gezunt,” the Yiddish version of the book sold more than 5,000 copies including bulk sales to Satmar of Kiryas Yoel and Skvere in New Square. The Hebrew version is slated to be released this summer in Eretz Yisroel.
“We wanted to present the necessary information in a way that was tzniusdik, appropriate for a Torah home, enjoyable and fun and not overwhelming,” Rabbi Horowitz explains. “The book focuses on general safety issues like wearing bike helmets, street crossing and fire safety, and, of course, also on ‘stranger danger’ and personal safety.” Rabbi Horowitz also posted these 3 free 5-minute videos online so parents should be better prepared to have these conversations with the correct messages:
“Child Safety On-The-Fly #1 by Project YES”
“Child Safety On-The-Fly #2 by Project YES”
“Child Safety On-The-Fly #3 by Project YES”
There are some basic messages that children need to know about.
1) There are no secrets from parents, and no one is ever allowed to tell them to keep a secret from their parents (and it’s not lashon hara to tell their parents).
2) Their bodies belong to them; their body is their personal space.
3) There is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ touching.
4) No one is allowed to make them feel uncomfortable and if they do feel uncomfortable, they should go to a trusted adult for help.
5) And for pre-teens and teenagers; that the Halochos of Yichud apply to everyone with no exceptions.
Let’s Stay Safe, with its delightful illustrations and kid-friendly text, is the perfect way to conduct this meaningful conversation. The book is warmly endorsed by Agudas Yisroel and Torah Umesorah and every word and illustration was carefully reviewed by prominent rabbanim to ensure that the book is in keeping with Torah values.
We can’t keep our children sheltered forever, but we can ensure that we do whatever possible to protect them. A frank, open and comfortable conversation, built around the appealing and fun pages of Let’s Stay Safe, is the best way to do that.
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One Response
Thanks Yeshivaworld.com for this timely reminder. So many very young children play outside (and at Shul on Shabbos) unsupervised. Unfortunately, the huge majority of abusers are most likely to be someone they know (and like, because they pay special attention to them and give them nosh or gifts). Children with challenges are even more vulnerable (the shy child, the learning disabled, or socially inept). It’s so important that every child learn never to keep secrets from their parents! And that they can say “No!” and run from an adult (no matter who it is)who makes them feel uncomfortable. I hope our Lakewood seforim stores have plenty of copies of Let’s Stay Safe.