Child Protection Week BITSS
September 5, 2008 by Megan · 2 Comments
Next week is Child Protection Week. What are you doing to extend the protective theme of Children See, Children Do?
At Imaginif we are today training in the BITSS model of protective behaviours. Two free spaces were offered to the community and both were immediately snapped up by; Grandparents.
Now that I am a Grandma, the importance of protecting our own children has been revisited upon me. My Granddaughter doesn’t have a chance though – between her mother and myself, Amelie will be facilitating Imaginif child protection trainings before the end of primary school 
To celebrate Child Protection and to encourage you all to
engage in protective behaviours with children, here’s a free gift:
For mums and dads: Parent Sense: The BITSS model of Protective Behaviours
For Grandparents: Grandparent Sense – protecting grand kids is fun.
What are you doing to extend the protective theme of Children See, Children Do?
Get your rocks off for child safety
Introducing talk about personal safety, protective behaviours and, oh ah….vagina and penises, can be difficult for many parents. Sex predators love kids who are emotionally and communication disconnected from safe people. They especially love kids who can’t talk straight and say something how it is (because the perpetrators can then twist disclosures to make it look the child was lying or that the child’s words meant something else). I’m sick of perpetrators getting to our kids. It is time to stone them! It is time to stone talk to kids about protective behaviours.
Talk with the help of a stone
Find a stone, rock or something natural and common in your area. It must be big enough to not be swallowed by a child and small enough to be tucked safely away in a precious box, drawer or dressing table. Give the stone to your child and tell them that the stone is special but that it is also private (like a vagina or penis). Not a secret (secrets are bad, surprises are good) but something private that nobody else may ever touch or look at without your child’s permission. The stone is to be kept in a special place, beyond the eyes of everyone else and only pulled out at times of cleaning, or checking. The stone is so sacred that if ever anybody touches it, your child must immediately tell a safe adult: you.
Stone age child protection metaphors
The stone is a metaphor for a private part – a penis, vagina, anus or breast. During your stone talk or stone play you may like to casually share the following information: Just like the stone, we also keep our private parts covered up and hidden from public view. Just like the stone they can at times be shown or touched. Sometimes the doctor or nurse may have to touch to make sure that all is well. But doctors and nurses or even people bathing the child, only ever touch there quickly and for a cleansing reason. If ever anybody spends too much time looking at or touching the private parts then it is a sign that not all is right and the child should tell a safe adult immediately.
There’s more ideas for protective play in Parent Sense, a 12 page protective behaviour tutorial free for you to download and use.
Many thanks to my 23 year old son for this idea. He rang me one night, shared his idea of helping parents to talk about personal safety with their kids and I have used the idea ever since. Thanks Rhys.
You may also be interested in these protective play ideas:
5 gifts to encourage child safety
Head and shoulders, knees and vagina
Are Children’s books providing them with enough advice?
The secret business of child sexual abuse caught by surprise
Child Protection Party Game with snake bite
May 26, 2008 by Megan · 4 Comments
Talk doctor Rebekah was unable to hold court at the BITSS children’s party so I had to officiate. Oh oh…I’m too old. I don’t do kids any more.
“Know any games good for teaching emotional intelligence?” I sarcastically asked my own ‘Mister sometimes emotionally constipated’.
Master 12 really is an amazing child and I should not be sarcastic. He doesn’t understand my moods and hormonal reactions. He has Aspergers. Some days are good for him, some days are less than perfect 
Obviously I caught him on a sharing and caring day because he knew exactly which game I should play with a bunch of preschoolers for helping to teach them about the second BITSS element of intuition (feelings and early warning body signs).
“Have a competition,” he enthused. ”Slowly stretch a lolly (candy) snake as far as it can be stretched without breaking it. Make a sad face to the kids whose snake breaks and then a happy face when they put the pieces in their mouth to eat it. For the kid who wins, clap big time and ask him how he feels. Ask all of them what was happening inside their tummy or chest as they were trying to be the winner by stretching their snake. Ask them what would happen in their tummy or chest if it was a real snake!”
The protective play party was a success. The kids LOVED the stretch the snake game and really got into exaggerating facial expressions to match emotions and body language to display early warning signs. What an excellent and quick party game and teachable moment for intuition.
My child is brilliant and emotionally intelligent, so, I will not be packing him off to the snake pit of boarding school this week.
BITSS of Protective Play financial year end training
May 24, 2008 by Megan · Leave a Comment
Megan Bayliss from Imaginif PTY LTD invites you to experience a fun and helpful workshop to encourage lasting change for your child and family clients:
BITSS of Protective Play
End of financial year training
Cairns, June 20, 08
Experience how to support families and children in protecting themselves from sexual assault by using everyday household items and simple activities that they can bring into play, in their homes and on a daily basis, to reinforce personal safety.
The BITSS of protective play training will provide you with:
- Background and historical protective behaviour knowledge to inform future practice with,
- Information, knowledge and articulation of the BITSS model of protective behaviours that can be used in your next session with a family or child,
- Thoughtful appreciation and ongoing demonstration of child protection as a community responsibility,
- Some creative ideas to immediately encourage families to practice protective behaviours, and
- Skills in play you can immediately attach your knowledge to.
Cost of BITSS workshop: $175.00 (tax inclusive) per participant
Cost includes:
- the workshop,
- a bag of BITSS (toy resources),
- a copy of Bitss of Caramel Marmalade on Toast
- blanket permission to use the BITSS model in your own trainings
- blanket permission to copy and distribute unlimited copies of “Parent Sense”, a protective play tutorial written for parents and carers.
When: Friday 20th June 2008, 9.00 am – 3.00 pm (Morning tea and lunch provided).
Where: Imaginif’s creative space, 206 Jensen St, Edge Hill (Top of Jensen St, on the right heading up the hill, just short of the T intersection with Hutchinson St.).
Who: Parents, Counsellors, support workers, early educators, teachers, liaison officers, child protection workers, community workers, day care providers, youth workers, service club leaders (Guides, Scouts, etc), anyone who is interested in keeping kids safe.
Registration: Verified bookings are essential and you MUST return your registration form (contact Megan to get one) and payment before the training. Sixteen places only. Contact Megan now for a registration package and tax invoice.
Pre workshop reading: About BITSS
Accommodation within walking distance to Imaginif:
Red Jensen Bed & Breakfast
Kookas Bed and Breakfast
Birdwing Bed and Breakfast
Protective Play interview with Frizzy Lizzie (a Frilled Neck Lizard)
August 20, 2007 by Megan Bayliss · 5 Comments
Wandering around the children’s playground, I wondered what Frizzy Lizzie would be wearing. How on earth was I going to pick her? When we arranged the interview she said she would be wearing a distinctive Australian gold necklace. I could see no women lurking amongst the happy children on the play ground equipment, let alone women with gold necklaces on.
Something ran up my leg! Straight up the baggy leg of my cargo shorts, skirted my private parts and poked out through the cloth waist. Terrified, I looked down upon my heaving breast to see an Australian Frilled Neck Lizard, now slowly stalking my jugular vein.
“Well I hope you are going to call out for help Megan because I can feel your early warning signs. Your heart is racing, your chest heaving and your whole body is shaking. Your early warning signs kick in to tell you what to do – to act – to call for help. No, no! Please don’t knock me off. I’m, Frizzy Lizzie. Use your voice to tell on me, that is what I’m most scared of. I hate sound. Don’t use your hands to flick or hit me because I may bite you and hurt you more.”
Once my heart returned to its correct shape, pace and colour, and my voice found its projection spot, I saw the funny side of what had just happened. Frizzy Lizzie, the queen of conquering all that which makes children feel creepy crawly, had just totally creeped me out! She taught me my first lesson on intuitive listening: in knowing how my body reacts when something weird is happening. I was supposed to call for help, not freeze and say nothing!
And so the interview began:
Megan: Apart from scaring me to death, what have you been doing to help keep kids safe Lizzie?
Lizzie: I’ve been flat out like a lizard drinking. I love to pop out of the garden and let the kids know to make a Frizzy Lizzie fuss if someone tries to touch their private parts. I tell the kids that it is good to get their hair in a knot, for it to really stand on end, when they sense danger. This sense is part of our early warning signs, our intuition.
Megan: Is it really okay for kids to make a fuss when their hair stands on end Lizzie? Won’t they get into trouble for being bothersome?
Lizzie: Pooh, pooh, pooh. Any parent that growls their kids for listening to their intuition will end up my dinner. I’ll give them a good licking with my tongue! If kids are scared, this is what I say they should do:
Lizzie opened her mouth wide and her neck frill folded out around her like a threatening Elizabethan collar or mad woman’s wig. She stood tall on her two back legs, looking larger than she really was and dangerous to any predator who thought they may be able to get Lizzie to keep her mouth shut.
Stunned, and a little alarmed at her sassiness, I took a step away from her. Lizzie shrank back to her unaroused size and laughed.
Lizzie: It is alright Megan. I don’t really hurt people. I just make it look like I am big, strong, loud mouth.
Swallowing my fear, I asked my final protective play interview question.
Megan: If parents wanted to teach their own children about becoming more Frizzy Lizzie like, how would they go about it?
Lizzie: They would buy a Frilled Neck Lizard puppet and act out this funny interview. Children learn through play so the best way to help a child become a big mouth and get their hair in a knot over someone trying to touch their private parts is to play, play, play Frizzy Lizzie. I’ve left some Frizzy Lizzie finger puppets for you in your protective play shop Megan. They are only $5.00 each. That is only a little price for a little bit of protective behaviours.
As Frizzy Lizzie disappeared back into the garden, I made a mental note to myself that I would be sure to tell this funny, but true, story as many times as I possibly could. Glory knows, I would do anything for child safety and teaching protective behaviours. How lucky am I to have a job where I keep kids safe by interviewing Frilled Neck Lizards and I get to tell the world about it.
For more Protective Play ideas, please search our Protective Play archives.
Have you entered our competition to win a set of five Australian Animal finger puppets?
Drawn on August 31st.
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