Target
Hardening Series
written by
Hayes, Police Lieutenant
| Abusers will use various tools in an effort
to break down the inhibitions of children. They use 'official' looking
books with illustrations or photos of nude people, porno magazines, and
photographs depicting nudity. They know children are susceptible to these
tactics.
I want to concentrate on photos. Unless
an abuser is dealing with a really disreputable photo processor or develop
their own photos, they don't use negative film. Videos, Polaroid film and
now
That said, Now The Plan: Get all the kids together so you can sort
through photographs. Have photos of family members, ancestors, realtives,
good times, pictures of the kids with friends, ones of family outings and
talk about the good times. Work with the kids to put together one or more
family albums. Talk about the good memories each of the photos represents.
You can do this over several sesions as small children
Now with the album(s) complete spend some more good quality time with your children. Pick a day of the week when you will be free and able to spend time together without interruption. Set it up and stick to the time. It could be the weekend in the afternoon when the two of you will be alone. I recommend you do some of this alone with each child as it will become your SPECIAL time together. Maybe once a month, pull out the album. Go through it with the child. Pick random photos and talk with your child about the memories concerning that particular photo. It might be of a favorite relative who is making good in the world and talk about what that person is doing now. It might be about the child's birthday and the special present they received, what funny things happened during the party or any other things which took place. Watch your child as you talk about different
persons in the photos. Your child may show some dislike for an individual,
activity or place depicted. Question your child about this dislike. You
may find out
Talk to your child about photos and how
they help us to remember important times. Talk about how they now have
a life outside the family in school, boy scouts, brownies, sports, and
any other activity
Let them know there will be times photos
will be taken of them when they are involved in those other activities.
Explain how important it is to you and the rest of the family to INCLUDE
those photos in the
When your child tells you a photo has been
taken, calmly find out who has taken it. Also find out the purpose for
the picture. It may be a class photo posted on the bulletin board. It may
be an action shot
Here is YOUR action part. Go to the person
who took the photo and ask to see it. Anyone taking legitimate photos will
show you immediately. At this point, ask if you can get a copy of the photo
for
If the person won't show you the photo,
go to their superior. Explain your purpose and the lack of cooperation
calmly. Don't take NO for an answer. Keep going until you get your answers
and see the
This is a method you can use when your
child is young. That may be around the ages of 5 to 8 years old. Of course,
you know your child better than I and may be able to start at a younger
age. If you
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Protecting Children: Page 2
copyright Hayes 1999, and used with the authors permission