4 body safety role-plays for Child-on-Child Abuse you must do with your child
We have already talked about how role-play can be a great way to teach children about body safety and we have also shared five role-plays you can do with your child to help them understand how to deal with different types of unsafe siutations. Child-on-Child Sexual Abuse (CoCSA) is a bit tougher for a child and parents to understand. After all, the perpetrators are kids as well. You can read our blog on misconceptions parents have about CoCSA.
Teaching kids about child-on-child abuse is a delicate but important task. The goal is to create awareness and safety without causing fear or anxiety. This is where role-plays specific to CoCSA can help.
Please note: You can tailor these scenarios to suit your child’s developmental level and maturity. The best thing to do in all these situations is to get away from the tricky person. It has to be emphasized that even if the child is unable to respond verbally and say “no”, they should try and leave that tricky person immediately and talk to a trusted adult or parent. Always convey that that the adult who behaves in an unsafe way is wrong and it is NOT the child’s fault even if they are unable to get away from the unsafe situation.
Situation 1:
You are in school. An older kid offers you money/sweets (or threatens you) to show him your private parts.
What to think: This older child is a tricky person. Private parts are always private.
What to say: I don’t want to do that.
What to explain to your child: Sometimes other kids can bribe or threaten you. If you can say no to them, do that. But if you feel scared it is best to run away from the tricky child and reach an adult near you. Always tell your parents what happened. We can help keep you safe.
Situation 2:
Your cousin shows you a picture of a person without clothes.
What to think: This is not a safe person because pictures of private parts are not okay.
What to say: I don’t want to see that. Don’t show me such pictures again.
What to explain to your child: Sometimes other children (even those related to you) can be unsafe. They may show you pictures of people without clothes as a joke or for fun. Such pictures are harmful and looking at them can create problems for your brain (you can use the word ‘addiction’ here if it is age-appropriate). You may be curious to see them and that is totally natural. But you must get away from there and come and tell me about it.
Situation 3:
Your classmate tells you that all best friends touch each other’s private parts. So if you want to be their best friend, you should too.
What to think: Touching and seeing private parts is unsafe.
What to say: No! I don’t want to do that.
What to explain to your child: No one can touch or see your private parts and no one should ask you to touch or see their private parts. If they do, they are tricky. Even if they are your friend, you must get away from them and come and tell me what happened.
Situation 4:
An older child from your school tells you a joke about private parts / sex and laughs.
What to think: Jokes about private parts are not safe.
What to say: I don’t want to talk about private parts.
What to explain to your child: Sometimes other kids may talk about sex and private parts and make jokes about them. Such jokes are not okay. You should tell me about anyone who makes such jokes.
