Why Body Safety Education is SO Important

Welcome to my first EVER blog post! My name is Lauren Ayers and I coordinate the body safety program in the schools ICPYAS serves. I spend my working hours coordinating our presentation schedule with school administration and occasionally presenting to students when needed. I really enjoy being in the classroom, coordinating with school staff and putting our mission into action. When it comes to experience relating to children and coordinating a schedule, I have gained all my knowledge from managing my six children--5 boys and 1 girl! We are a busy, loud family with lots of personality. Having a family of this size and mothering children who are all unique, has humbled me to my core and allowed me to see that although a variety of paths work when raising children there are a few core ideals we need to instill in every child.

This past school year we were halted from completing all our schools’ programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At ICPYAS (along with the rest of the world) we were all disappointed on how our school year ended. During the 2018-2019 school year, though, we educated over 100,000 students using our Child Lures and Teen Lures curriculum. As we find our way back to normal or as everyone says our “new normal”, we are hopeful to reach at least that many children this year. We know we will need to be flexible and creative on how we will succeed in doing this. As we start the 2020-21 school year, I would like to briefly introduce all of you to our Child Lures curriculum. My hope is you will see its tremendous value in a child’s life.

When some parents think of body safety programs, they have many questions and might be uncomfortable introducing their children to concepts that seem scary, intense and a little uncomfortable. Our curriculum has been tailored to be sensitive to childhood innocence while teaching children to be vigilant in spotting unsafe practices. I often use personal stories and a little humor to really captivate my young audience. All the students enjoy hearing stories about my kids. In our Child Lures curriculum, we start by talking about different things we do to stay safe—we buckle up in cars, use sunscreen, wear a bike helmet. We talk about spotting unsafe behaviors using the terminology stormy and sunny behaviors. I ask children to help me brainstorm some examples of stormy behaviors and we discuss how everyone is capable of showing stormy behaviors. Depending on the grade of the children, we then discuss different avenues where stormy behaviors can be shown. We might discuss bullying, online safety, authority figures, inappropriate touches or different types of lures.

The next main part of our presentation addresses “trusting your gut.” We acknowledge a person’s stormy behavior can cause us to have distinct physical feelings. These feelings can be different for everyone. Some children may feel sick to their stomach, want to cry, feel shaky, feel flush. No response is the same and there are many different reactions. We tell children these reactions are signals our body uses to let us know something is not right. We encourage children to trust those physical feelings and tell a trusted adult what is going on. We brainstorm adults children can trust and try to come up with many different options so everyone has someone they could talk to.

If the children are in 2nd grade or younger, we use anatomically correct dolls to teach children the correct private body part names. Teaching children correct anatomical names of body parts allows them to communicate in an understandable way if they need help. For children in 4ththrough 6th grade, we give the opportunity for students to privately share any incidents where they felt unsafe. We screen students by having them fill out a small slip of paper at the end of the presentation. This is called Talk Time and is specific to the ICPYAS organization.

After the presentation, a trained presenter from ICPYAS will sit with the principal or school counselor and meet with students that put “have” on the screening sheet. Most of these incidents are innocent in nature and we do nothing. For example, a child may have been tagged on the bottom during recess or bumped into while waiting in line. In some cases, a child may choose not to share what has happened and we do not pressure him or her. If a child does disclose an abusive event, we are obligated reporters and would contact the appropriate agencies to get support for the child. I feel this time gives children good practice using their voice and recognizing when something doesn’t feel right. This is our Child Lures presentation in a nutshell. You can access the ICPYAS parent page to get a more comprehensive overview. Here is the link www.indianaprevention.org/parentresources.

In my experience as a mother and body safety educator, I feel all children need to feel empowered to use their voice. Teaching a child to recognize when something is wrong and giving him or her the courage to speak up will help the child set healthy, personal boundaries. These are core ideals to use for preventing child abuse but they are also core ideals for life long, healthy relationships. Some children are in very dire situations. It is never a child’s fault if he or she is too scared or ashamed to speak up about abuse. As adults, we need to always be on the lookout for cues children are showing us. At ICPYAS, we have suicide prevention trainings and Stewards of Children training to compliment the education we offer our school age children. These trainings help adults identify the traumatic situations some children are facing. Today our world is filled with much political discourse, many differing opinions, so many disagreements and much division. I think we can all unite behind the idea every child deserves a safe and loving childhood. I look forward to collaborating with our area schools and my ICPYAS staff to reduce the impact of child abuse in our community.

Have a great rest of your summer. Stay healthy, safe and cool!

Lauren Ayers, Education Scheduling Coordinator

Lauren Ayers