Children in preschool and lower grades of elementary schools need to give priority to helping them establish the concept of "body boundaries", so that no one can touch their bodies at will, and they should not touch others at will, infringing on their bodily autonomy.

A private kindergarten in Taichung reported a shocking incident of a 5-year-old boy touching the vagina of a 6-year-old girl. However, this is not a single case. Last year, a private kindergarten in New Taipei City also had a case of a 6-year-old boy touching the private parts of a girl of the same age.

Suspected incidents of sexual harassment or molestation among children in kindergartens are turning into younger children, which is surprising and even more worrying for parents!

The victims and perpetrators are all still "little children." The Family Support Foundation stated that kindergarten is a place where children receive formal education, but the risks they encounter in school are far more numerous and complex than adults imagine, such as peer bullying, school

Issues such as sexual harassment, teacher bullying, and even sexual assault.

Among the abuse incidents, the "victims" and "perpetrators" were all children under the age of 7, involving "sex"-related safety issues for children.

Preschool children lack correct concepts and make inappropriate behaviors such as touching other people's bodies or even private parts because they are curious or do not understand body boundaries.

In this regard, adults should carefully review their children's educational plans such as interpersonal interactions, self-protection, and physical boundaries, and start teaching children about self-protection and how to seek help at school age to reduce risks and injuries.

More than 30% of children have experienced "uncomfortable" incidents at school. In April this year, the Family Support Foundation conducted a questionnaire survey on "Children and Children's Self-Protection Attitudes and Actions (Children's Edition)" among elementary school to high school vocational students in Taiwan.

As many as 34.2% of children said that they "had encountered bad things at school and did not want to go to school", which was also the number one risk situation in life for children. Another 16.1% said that "someone has touched my body without my consent."

and feel uncomfortable".

Be keenly aware of "abnormalities" and save children from danger. In addition to helping children learn self-protection, you should also be keenly aware of the alarms given by children and help them escape danger in time.

Incidents of sexual assault or harassment require more vigilance and attention than explicit physical harm and other abuse.

In the case of a girl being molested in a kindergarten in Taichung City, the parents discovered that the girl suddenly didn't like being in class with a certain boy, and they only found out the truth after questioning.

After the incident, in addition to reporting the incident, it is more important to seek professional assistance from a psychologist, social worker or doctor to accompany the child out of the dark forest.

Establish "body boundaries" to improve self-protection capabilities. The Family Support Foundation calls on children in preschool and lower grades of elementary schools to give priority to helping them establish the concept of "body boundaries" and not allow anyone to touch their bodies casually.

I also do not touch others at will, infringing on my body autonomy.

The way to ask for help is to let children face their own feelings, learn how to say no bravely, and seek help from adults in a timely manner.

Children should protect themselves as soon as possible to prevent possible harm and prevent the incident from happening again. This is the active prevention strategy for protecting children and young children.