At Nannypalooza this year we were very honored to have New York City child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor Jill Starishevsky come and speak to us. She also owns the website How'sMyNanny.com. Jill's mission in life is keeping kids safe, and specifically she wants to keep children safe from sexual predators. I learned quite a few things in her presentation, not the least of which was to never teach a child to keep "secrets" as this is the first thing a predator will use as a way to keep the abuse silent. (Use the word surprise instead.)
Jill recently published a new, groundbreaking book that I believe will save kids' lives. It is called My Body Belongs to Me. This book is a poem that will help start the conversation about personal safety. It is very brave and amazing. The one part of the book that is very specific about abuse, that very gently, but very clearly explains to a child that it is not ok for someone to touch you in places your swimsuit covers, was the part of the book that publishers wanted her to change or delete. But Jill knows from her dedicated work with the city of New York that keeping kids in the dark will not protect them. Keeping secrets is not good for anyone when it comes to abuse.
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