Our children will experience a period of three months in which they will feel comfortable after a long working period during the summer period when their schools are on holiday. During this period, families will be able to rest a little, and they will feel good after the period when they race against time. Warm weather, sea, sun, maybe a summer holiday in the highlands. Although it is a time for families to relax, it should not be forgotten that there is a period when families should be more careful in terms of protecting their children, especially during primary education.
It is a period when people become open to malicious and sexually abusive people, summer vacation. With the complacency brought by the summer, open to neighbors in the summer cottages, children can remain uncontrolled. Or, because families are playing with neighbor children, they may trust each other and create a control vacuum. Apart from this, although the close environment is trusted, sexual characteristics, approaches, and pedophilia situations are never clearly evident. Unexpected situations may occur from unexpected people.
Children should be informed. It should not be forgotten that private areas, even their bodies, belong to them and should not be touched by anyone, should be kept at a distance from strangers, and children should not be left out of sight, uncontrolled and alone.
Computers may be used more effectively, and it should not be forgotten that children should not be left unprotected in the internet environment. Children should not communicate with people they do not know and share their pictures, personal identification information, and addresses.
The love to be shown to children should never be in the way of love shown to a spouse or lover, innocent feelings should be felt in them and they should be portrayed in this way. Kissing the child on the lips, touching the genitals in a way that stimulates them is a behavior that should not be even in the dimensions of first-degree kinship.
Having a sense of privacy is a good start to protect the child from such malicious people.
It should be understood that the child should not be in a secluded place, where there are not many people, that he should not be alone in empty classrooms at schools, that he should not accept food or drink from anyone, and that he should not approach strangers. It should be emphasized that he should maintain a certain distance in human relations.
Children’s clothing should be moderate and the ground should be prepared in terms of self-protection. Very revealing clothing can make ill-wishers ready for abuse.
Malicious, sexually abusive people may be people who appear to be normal, ordinary people, even having credible characteristics, whom no one can imagine as such people.
It is seen that unthinkable things have happened about close relatives, efforts have been made to keep these matters confidential, there have been years of resentment and separation between families.
Children should be able to clean themselves after using the toilet, starting from an early age, and an environment of self-protection should be provided without asking anyone for help.
It is necessary to ensure that the names of the sexual organs are perceived as body parts without embarrassing them, so that the child can express himself correctly when exposed to such a situation.
Children should be able to stay away from an environment where they do not feel safe, to show their uneasiness, and to shout for help by shouting. Even if this is the closest one. In fact, it is useful to be reminded from time to time about what to do. However, the point to be considered here is not to place the feeling of fear; to raise awareness of what they can do.
Öznur Simav
pedagogue – family counselor
