Violence against children is often found on various news portals and other social media networks. As a parent, of course you don’t want your child to get abused either intentionally or unintentionally. The forms of violence that occur to children also vary, ranging from physical violence, psychological to sexual violence. Violence that occurs in children certainly has a big impact on children, not only for the present but also has a long-term impact. Providing protection to children is certainly not only the responsibility of parents, but also of everyone. Here are some ways to avoid child abuse.
1. Give children knowledge about how to protect themselves
Parents cannot supervise children for 24 hours. Because of that, the occurrence of violence both physically and sexually makes parents feel worried for their children. So that children are not exposed to and receive violence, of course parents need to inform children about what steps children can take to protect themselves. The first piece of information that can be explained to the child is not to allow anyone to touch him unnaturally. Tell and teach children to be able to refuse actions that are deemed inappropriate and seek help immediately. Children are often afraid when they feel threatened by something, but you can teach children to be willing to show courage in speaking out, to fight back when threatened and to express their opinions. With this courage, it is a form of resistance that can be carried out when experiencing acts of violence. Youth, also tell children not to easily trust strangers.
2. Building good communication with children
Children who experience violence will often close themselves to their relatives, including their parents. So it is very important for parents to be able to establish good communication with their children so that children want to open up. Inviting children to tell stories about their health is very important because parents are not always around children. Try to ask about the child’s day at school, but don’t force the child to tell a story, especially when his emotional state is not good. This will certainly make children reluctant to tell stories and choose to avoid. Pay attention to whether there are changes in the child’s behavior when the child tells a story. You can ask the child and try to listen to the story wholeheartedly and give it a form of attention so that the child feels that the child is valued.
3. Maximizing existing roles in schools
In addition to studying, schools also function as a place to establish social relationships with children and train behavior control in children. This child’s assessment is of course obtained from observations made by the teacher or homeroom teacher regarding children’s behavior and behavior at school. This observation was made as material for consideration and evaluation of children’s assessment of parents while at school. The teacher is of course a substitute for parents at school who can monitor and provide an objective assessment of children’s behavior in their school environment. Schools are also expected to be able to form an internal activity whose job is to monitor student activity while at school.
4. Providing provisions to children about self-defense
It’s not enough just to teach children, but parents must also equip children with the basic knowledge of self-defense. Children who master martial arts will certainly make children avoid the risk of becoming victims of violence and crime. Self-defense can also teach children to be disciplined and able to form mentally and physically strong. This self-defense can be done when the child feels in a threatened position and cannot do anything other than fight. Even though this martial art is very good for children, you also have to explain the understanding of self-defense.
5. Immediately report to the authorities when violence occurs
If a child gets violence and crime both physically, psychologically and sexually, you can report the incident to the authorities. Reporting the incident to the authorities is of course very important. This is so that the authorities can immediately run the case and follow up on it and can reduce the occurrence of violent behavior in children. Not only that, children who are victims of violence must also receive protection and receive medical care. Of course, this disorder must also be assisted by parents and those closest to them. This is useful so that later the child can reduce the feeling of trauma and get support so that the child can recover quickly like when he was a child.