• Avoid scare tactics. Explain that most adults want to protect children and keep them safe.

• Emphasize your children’s basic right to body privacy and ownership. Every child is in charge of their own body and keeping it safe.

• Teach your children age-appropriate, basic sex education.

• Children have the right to say “No!” to any touch that makes them feel uncomfortable.

• Give your children a sense of self-worth and dignity at every opportunity.

• Let your children know they can tell you anything and that you will believe them. Most importantly, let them know that abuse would not be their fault and that they would not be in trouble for telling someone if they were being hurt on purpose.

• Get to know your children’s friends and their families. Know where your children are, whom they are with, and what they are doing.

Teach your children the safety rules and practice often.

• Listen to the “UH-OH” feeling

• Say “NO!”

• Go tell a trusted adult