Talk with children

Some tips about how to talk with children

- Watch the children's non verbal language

How is the child in class, how does he/she react in a stressful situation?

- Ask for their experiences

"How did that feel for you?" "What were you thinking when that happened?" "Did you like it?" "Did it hurt?"

- When in doubt: ask about the voluntariness in a situation

"Did you wanted to do that?" "Would you want to do that again?"

- Ask the children to tell what happened like a story or movie

"Can you tell me what you did yesterday like it was a movie?"

- Don't ask too many or too hard questions

What if you think there is something wrong with a child?

 

 

If you think a child is a victim of sexual abuse, it is important that you intervene and take it very serious.

When you are in doubt, it is important that you explore the situation by talking to the child. You can also talk to people who could know something about this situation. Here it is important that you watch out with who you talk to. It is not okay to accuse someone without knowing it for sure.

You can evaluate the situation by using the Smiley System. When you think a child  is in a sexual abusive situation, you can report this to the Child Protection Officer of your center.

Some tips:

- Don't get mad when a child tells you something. Don't give the child the impression that it did something wrong

- Don't turn the conversation into an interrogation: ask about what happened, when and where it happened... But don't ask why it happened

- Try not to get upset when the child is still with you. They could feel guilty and maybe then they don't dare to tell you everything

- Don't make an own story about it and do not jump to conclusions without getting all the information. Get all the facts right and communicate everything in detail to the Child Protection Officer. 

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