I’ve been saying it for years: the best way to protect children is to have adults who interact with them in ways that provide connection, safety, and more. It’s the everyday things. Darkness to Light identified some small interactions that protect children:
Protection doesn’t begin with a crisis.
It begins much earlier. It begins in the ordinary moments that most people overlook.
The ride home after soccer practice.
The extra question before a sleepover.
The conversation after camp.
The decision to ask how children are supervised before signing up for a new activity.
https://www.d2l.org/everyday-decisions-protect-children/
These actions aren’t just specific actions that protect children; they’re the kinds of actions that come naturally when kids have an adult actively involved in their lives every day, the kind of involvement that would notice a nervous pause before answering, an odd comment that seems out of character, a small detail in a story about other people.
Unfortunately, too many kids don’t have these relationships, and no one has these everyday conversations to notice when something’s going on, and they remain easier targets because they’ve also got no one to tell.