Today is Universal Children’s Day, celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.
In the article, “Protecting Children Online on Universal Children’s Day,” Sharon Iskra, Bailey Glasser partner and leader of our Institutional Abuse & Neglect team, encourages us to celebrate by reflecting on all the wonders of childhood: the innocence, joy, curiosity, and energy, but realizing the hazards to today’s children, especially online, where children can be trapped and manipulated through child sexual abuse materials (CSAM).
“It’s up to every one of us to protect kids, whether they’re our own or those we encounter through work or friends. Child safety IS your business – and at Bailey Glasser, it’s our business too,” Sharon writes.
One of the best things we can do to protect a child is to be a genuinely safe person of trust for them. Practice these fundamentals as appropriate in the context of your relationship with a child:
1. Parents/caregivers, talk to your children regularly and in age-appropriate ways about online safety.
2. Empower children, teach them to trust their instincts and repeat to them that if something doesn’t seem right or frightens them, take it to a safe adult right away.
3. Teach body integrity and self-worth.
4. Remind children that adults are supposed to protect children, and children are supposed to be children.
Read the full article to learn more tips about how to be a person of trust for children, how to protect them from CSAM, and for nationally sourced resources on how to begin talking to your child.
Learn more information on Sharon Iskra by visiting here.
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