It’s mid-August and that means the Back-to-School season is just around the corner! Parents, caregivers, and their children are stocking up on school supplies and learning about their new classrooms. With the bustle of activity, it’s an important time to learn about child abuse prevention education in the classroom. Whether you’re a caregiver or a teacher, the information we share here will help you understand the current state of research on body safety education. You can get started by learning about Body Safety Rules.
Programs purporting to address child abuse prevention are so numerous that it can be hard to keep them straight. Ensuring that the program used in your child’s classroom meets research-support practice is even more of a challenge. The Alliance developed an evaluation rubric to guide us through the vast array of educational programs designed to teach children about body safety. Find all the resources on our Child Abuse Prevention page!
Evaluation Components of Child Abuse Prevention Programs
This rubric is not just a checklist but a guiding compass for educators, parents, and stakeholders, illuminating the essential components that make up a solid and impactful child abuse prevention program. Recognizing the ever-evolving nature of research in body safety education, the Alliance does not rank programs. Instead, we’ve focused on identifying promising practices that align with the latest findings, fostering continuous growth and improvement.
Program Structure
Program Structure reviews the operational backbone of the program. It evaluates crucial elements such as the number of sessions, duration, inclusion of a parent education component, and facilitator training. The assessment also considers the accessibility of program materials in diverse languages and their reflection on the diverse identities of children, which are vital for inclusivity and effectiveness.
Program Content
Program Content delves into the heart of the educational material, assessing how well the program incorporates research-supported messages about body safety. These messages include teaching children about body ownership and using correct anatomical terms for private parts. It also evaluates the program’s approach to disclosures, emotional safety, personal boundaries, and the dynamics of abuse.
Program Delivery
Program Delivery evaluates the teaching methods used to deliver the program to children. It examines whether the program includes direct instruction on core concepts, uses modeling of appropriate behaviors, and actively engages children in the learning process. These methods ensure that the content meets educational standards, resonates with children, and empowers them to apply the knowledge in real-life scenarios.
Results: What We Found in Our Evaluation
After evaluating over a dozen programs, it’s clear that most share common elements. However, they also differ in how they incorporate specific research-informed practices.
Many programs offer multiple sessions, although most fall short of the recommended four-lesson guideline. While most programs emphasize key messages about body safety, there are variations in the specifics. The programs we reviewed made efforts to incorporate diverse identities through visuals. However, we hope to see more focus on adapting the content to different cultural norms and the needs of children with special requirements.
Child Abuse Prevention Programs Recommended by the Alliance
The Alliance has identified four body safety education programs we encourage for use in Minnesota elementary schools. Many other programs may also fit a school’s needs, but we suggest these four as a starting point for consideration.
Safe & Strong Child©
The Safe & Strong Child© program from First Witness Child Advocacy Center is a body safety curriculum provided in Southern Saint Louis County, Minnesota, for over 25 years. Learn more about the program.
Empower Me!
Empower Me! by the Jacob Wetterling Resource Center at Zero Abuse Project is a body safety curriculum for children designed for ages K-6th grade. Learn more about the program.
Red Flag Green Flag©
Red Flag Green Flag© is a curriculum that fosters body ownership and personal boundaries in early elementary-age children. Learn more about the program.
Safer, Smarter Kids
Safer, Smarter Kids follows a developmentally appropriate sequence of instruction for elementary school students, helping children develop skills to stay safe as their world expands. Learn more about the program.
Tools for Talking About Body Safety and Abuse Prevention
Knowing that your child receives research-backed body safety education in the classroom is an important step. However, it’s not enough to prevent abuse. Adults are responsible for protecting children from harm; creating opportunities to discuss this subject with them is critical.
First, if you are concerned about a child who may be experiencing abuse, you can learn How to Report Child Abuse in Minnesota. Then check out these resources for support in talking to the young ones in your life. Leading medical authorities like the American Academy of Pediatrics provide helpful advice on how to approach the topic with children. Darkness2Light also has a useful tipsheet for talking with children in developmentally appropriate ways. The Bellingham Public Library has compiled a book list of child-friendly publications covering body safety.
The Back-to-School season comes and goes in a flurry of activity. While it can be hard to add another task, we encourage caregivers to include body safety discussions in preparing to return to the classroom. Start the school year off right! Help your child learn to identify safe adults and understand their right to feel safe in their body!