Are teachers safe? Frankly, most are, but it's a well-known fact that predators gravitate to positions that give them access to children, and that presents a challenge in terms of safe vs. unsafe people. We see daily news accounts of arrests, and it's no surprise that perpetrator professions are often "youth minister," "coach," "childcare worker," and "teacher." Because of this, no child serving organization can ever be completely safe. So how do we talk with our kids about this? How do we tell them that their teacher, or coach, the person they see daily, could be unsafe?
It's so easy to tell kids "don't talk to strangers" and convince ourselves that we've done our job protecting them from sexual abuse; the fact is, more than 90% of the time, your child's attacker will be someone they know. Stranger-danger is a myth; the horrifying reality is that it's those closest to us who pose the most danger to our kids.
Would you be comfortable talking with your child about "teacher-danger" or "coach-danger" or "neighbor-danger?" If your skin begins to crawl at the thought, you are not alone. When we hear stories about the youth pastor who had inappropriate sexual contact with a teen, or the coach who raped a player, it seems outrageous and uncommon, and yet these stories pepper the news on a daily basis. What's uncommon is the white van that drove through the neighborhood and took a child.
Safe vs. Unsafe ~ The Conversation
The conversation about safe vs. unsafe needs to change, and that's why Revved Up Kids is so passionate about our mission to protect children. We are the ones who are helping start the family dialogue, talking with kids about the fact that almost everyone they will ever meet would never consider harming them, but anyone could be an unsafe person, even someone they see regularly. Instead of waiting for your church or your school to be splashed all over the news because of an incident of sexual abuse, why not call Revved Up Kids to come in and provide training? Why not equip the children and teens with knowledge and protective behaviors; why not teach the staff and volunteers how to predator-proof their environment? Why not teach the parents how to spot a predator? An arrest and a news story means there are victims, and Revved Up Kids wants to prevent predators from accessing victims. Is your church, synagogue, school, or neighborhood ready to talk? Contact us!
Revved Up Kids has trained tens of thousands of children to recognize dangerous people, avoid unsafe situations, and escape attackers. Our training programs are available for boys and girls in K-12th grade, for parents, and for youth serving organizations. Contact us to discuss protecting the children you love from predators and violence, 678.526.3335.