Every morning in the last few days has been horrible, to say the least. The newspapers scream of atrocities committed against women, and children, in particular, and it breaks my heart as a parent, to read about the agony that another parent has gone through.
It's shocking that crime rates in India against children have doubled between 2012 and 2016. Every day I open the newspaper with apprehension and a sense of dread. With two kids aged 12 years and 8 years, my concern for their safety is paramount and it really doesn't matter any more than one of them is a boy.
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With schools telling children to develop the habit of reading the newspaper every day and reading the headlines out in class, I wonder what they should or shouldn't be reading any more. With the spate of rapes across the country, how are we, as Indian parents explaining these events to our young children?
Luckily schools in India have taken up this a bit seriously and the concept of good touch vs bad touch is explained at a young level, unlike our times were the topic was a taboo and was left to parents to discuss them with the kids.
This video by Podar Jumbo Kids, Mumbai educates children about good touch vs bad touch using puppets and has been widely circulated, increasing the awareness, among kids.
Here are more videos that you must watch along with your kids to explain to them about the concept of good touch vs bad touch. We also told you in KSP Book Club about a recent book by K Krishna, published by Scholastic India, titled "Watch Out! No Touch" and how it helps to explain these essential pointers to our kids. (Read about the book here)
As an aftermath of the Kathua incident, last week, BBC recently interviewed parents in different parts of the country about how they explained rape and sexual abuse to their child. This is what some of them had to say.
Dr Samir Parikh, a Delhi based child psychologist says
"When you're educating a child, it's not a one-time affair, Incidents in the news should be used as teaching moments based on the child's age and cognitive abilities."
Mona Desai – mother of an 11-year-old daughter in Mumbai.
She wants to know if the whole world is like this
When her daughter asked her what rape was she explained that it meant somebody was abusing someone else or violating the privacy of their body in an unacceptable way.
Sunayana Roy, mother of two sons aged 11 and 3 in Bangalore
He needs to be aware that he will play a role in bringing change
She wanted her sons to be aware of rape culture. Sexual violence is one of the biggest fears of women and one that impacts everybody's lives. Sexist jokes, phrases and thoughts are not tolerated in their household. They explain to them how damaging they can be.
Parul – mother of a 14-year-old in Chandigarh
How do I teach her about rape without making her cynical?
Instances of rapes and violence upset her and she asks, 'Are all men like that?' It is a struggle to answer these questions when I want her to believe that the world is beautiful.
Akhila Prabhakar – mother of two sons, aged 10 and 8 in Mumbai
Empowering them to say stop
They have explained good touch, bad touch to their children. They have also told them that if someone does something that they are uncomfortable with they should never be afraid to say "no." On the other side, they have actually restricted newspaper access. Both parents are quite particular about what kind of media they have access to, and how age-appropriate the content they are exposed to is.
Arunava Sinha – father to a 15-year-old son in Delhi
I took my teenage son to his first anti-rape protest
Telling our child that is right or wrong is not enough. They believe it's important for him to see he's not alone and is part of a group of others who think like him and believe in similar values.
You can read the full article by clicking here.
With the incidents growing every day, we as parents need to educate our children in the best way possible about the bad things that happen to people around us and how they have to learn to safeguard themselves from harm and come to us for anything and everything that may trouble them. Are you having this essential discussion with your children?
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