NEWS Children hazy on security

A SHOCKING 61 per cent of Australian parents say they don’t believe their child knows what to do when they feel unsafe, according to new research.

The research of more than 2000 Australians carried out by children’s charity Act for Kids also revealed only 30 per cent of parents understood the importance of teaching children the skills necessary to identify unsafe situations, what are public and private body parts and how to seek help from trusted adults when they feel unsafe.

Act for Kids executive director of services Dr Katrina Lines said the findings were surprising and scary.

Dr Katrina Lines said it was not a child’s responsibility to keep themselves safe, but they had a right to know how to ask for help if they needed it.

“If you empower children with the knowledge of how to ask for help, then they are more likely to ask for help from people they trust and from people who will listen to them and help them,” she explained.

Mum and samurai karate instructor Melinda Preston said she had been vigilant in teaching her three boys, aged nine, seven and five, about what to do if they feel unsafe.

“The very first step is that communication is the key and that children have a right to speak up to teachers and adults every time they are made to feel uncomfortable,” she said.

Ms Preston said about 90 per cent of the children who arrived for her self defence classes had very little idea on how to identify an unsafe situation or what to do if they are made to feel uncomfortable.