Body Safety and Abuse Prevention: Keeping Kids Safe with Feather Berkower

Episode 30: Body Safety and Abuse Prevention: Keeping Kids Safe with Feather Berkower @parentingsafechildren

This week Rachael has a very important conversation with Feather Berkower, a leader and well known author in child sexual abuse prevention. Feather educates us on ways we can protect our children when we are not with them both by having tough conversations with adults and teaching them "body safety" and consent from the start. Feather emphasizes the importance of pushing through our own discomfort to have these tough conversations for the sake of our kids.

The uncomfortable truth is that most of us either are survivors or know a survivor of abuse. In this necessary episode, Rachael and Feather discuss the current stats for sexual abuse (which are shocking) and how to teach children protection skills without scaring them. Feather shares what makes a child most vulnerable to abuse, and the signs to look out for that abuse may have occurred. Feather also offers tips on ways we can speak to friends and family about the values we are teaching our children in relation to body safety and how to begin having conversations around this topic at a very young age. 

Feather is a licensed clinical social worker who holds a Master’s of Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. She has been a leader in child sexual abuse prevention since 1985 and has educated nearly one-hundred fifty thousand schoolchildren, parents and youth professionals. Her well-regarded workshop, Parenting Safe Children, empowers adults to keep children safe from sexual assault. Feather co-authored Off Limits, a parenting book that will change the way you think about keeping children safe.. Feather makes this difficult topic less scary, and consistently impresses audiences with her knowledge, commitment, and warmth. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Join the Live Zoom Workshop for Parenting Safe Children in March & April: Sign Up here

Feather’s Book: “Off Limits: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse”

Feather’s Instagram here

Rachael is a mom of 3, founder of Hey, Sleepy Baby, and the host of this podcast.

Instagram (Show page)

Tiktok (Rachael's tiktok account)

Show Website (transcripts available here)

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