Early Childhood Health Education & Abuse Prevention
Program Goal:
The Goal of the Care For Kids program is to prevent child sexual abuse through health education and prevention.
Program Description:
Care For Kids is a comprehensive community approach to fostering healthy sexual development in early childhood. The curriculum promotes adults understanding of children’s sexual development; open, comfortable communication between adults and children about sexuality; and adult responsibility for the safety and healthy development of children.
The Care For Kids curriculum includes developmentally appropriate activities and message that enhance the development of children’s self-esteem, respect for self and others, rewarding human relationships, and the avoidance of sexual coercion.
The Care For Kids curriculum uses six themes to communicate positive messages to children. The first three themes develop self-esteem and positive attitudes toward sexuality and gender. The last three themes develop an understanding of body boundaries and coping with boundary violations. The themes can be easily incorporated into already existing curriculum within the early childhood setting.
Care For Kids Themes:
1. Bodies
- Our bodies are good and special and deserving of care and respect, including the genitals.
- Boys and girls have some parts that are different, and many that are the same.
2. Babies
- Babies need help with most things and deserve to be looked after.
- Children, as they grow, learn to do more things by themselves, but they still seem some help.
3. Feelings
- Everyone has all kinds of feelings.
- When you’re not sure what you’re feeling, we call that “mixed up” (or confused)
4. Touching
- Sometimes we like touching and sometimes we don’t – touching is never a secret.
- A person can say NO to touching – Don’t touch a person who says, “No touching.”
5. Bedtime
- Private parts are kept special
- Small children sometimes need help washing and wiping their private parts – Older children and grownups do not need help from children with their private parts.
6. Secrets & Surprises
- Sometimes we want to keep a secret and sometimes we don’t.
- Touching is never a secret.
- When you are sad or mixed up because someone asks you to keep a secret, you can ask two ore three grownups for help.