OPINION: Personal safety education could spare more kids from abuse

Would you allow your kids, or hypothetical kids, to walk through the city without teaching them about the crosswalk buttons and looking both ways? Would you allow them to not wear seat belts in the car if they didn’t want to?

How about using the stove and sharp knives without any instructions? Of course not. Because failing to do this could easily lead to a serious injury or even death.

We teach our children rules, how things work, what to expect, and how to problem-solve because it empowers them to live more independently as they grow up and helps keep them safe.

Yet there is one area where we are not consistently doing our job as adults to protect children — abuse prevention.

Every year, thousands of kids in New Mexico suffer from neglect as well as physical, sexual and emotional abuse — usually perpetrated by a parent or another person close to them. Each one of these cases is 100% preventable.

While the solution for preventing abuse is multi-faceted, one way that parents, grandparents and other adults can protect their kids is through the use of regular discussions, books and videos about body safety.

Another way is through their school. It is the law in New Mexico to provide all public school students with health education that covers topics like good/bad touch, refusal skills, safe/unsafe situations and behaviors, identifying and talking with safe adults, and bullying. Statute 22-13-1 specially requires public schools to provide “age-appropriate sexual abuse and assault awareness and prevention training,” otherwise known as Erin’s Law.

While some schools are complying with these laws, many are doing little to nothing. There are probably several reasons for this, but one is that many school counselors and social workers, if the school even has one, are overwhelmed with the emotional and social issues of their students, and have little time for prevention education.

Kids Empowered is a local nonprofit agency that teaches kids to recognize, prevent and stop all forms of child abuse and bullying. We also cover internet safety with older kids. Our evidence-based and age-appropriate program is offered free to schools. In two, 30- to 45-minute lessons, we teach each class that even though it’s a grown-up’s job to keep them safe, they don’t all do their job.

This is why it’s so important for kids to learn as much as they can about how to protect themselves and other children. Visit kidsempowered.org to learn more about our program.

Each time we read or hear a news story about another child victim of abuse, we lament the strong likelihood that had that child received the education to which he or she is legally entitled, the incident could have been prevented or stopped, and a life saved.

Does your child’s school provide adequate personal safety education? It’s worth finding out. Even if you do a thorough job of this essential education at home, many parents and guardians do not. This leaves thousands of kids in our community vulnerable to life-altering abuse.

When families and schools are both fulfilling their duties to protect children, we have the best chance of empowering kids to stand up for their right to a safe and loving childhood.

Diane Alongi Berger is the co-founder/director of Albuquerque-based Kids Empowered.