Young children need a support network of trusted adults they can talk to if they ever feel unsafe or unsure. This support network should include trusted adults from their family or school but also contain contacts and phone numbers from official and recognised authorities. Parents and carers should also be aware of ‘who’ each contact is on their child’s plan.

This is an activity that needs revisiting on a regular basis because support contacts can change, move away or become no longer available to help. We have a Helper Plan template in our Activity Book that can also be found in our Parent Packs available to purchase here.

It is also a good idea to discuss why they have chosen their adult supporters and a good moment to explore the meaning of trust and who they perceive to be a safe person and how they feel about them.

Yes, copies of the songs are available on CD and can be ordered from our online shop. The songs help young children remember the key messages from the show including Yes and No Feelings, Warning Signs, Private Parts, Secrets and Run and Tell. 

There are many factors to consider when identifying ‘safe’ people but to explain the methodology used in the show, we base this heavily around children’s emotional literacy. Emotional literacy is all about your feelings, identifying and recognising different kinds of feelings and ‘how’ to manage your feelings. The show presents tools to help young children begin to recognise when they could be in an unsafe or unsure situation and importantly, what to do next to gain help.

Short examples are used to practise recognition of feelings in a safe platform that includes positive and negative emotions, warning signs in the body, and what to do if you feel unsafe and unsure.

The show also presents the ‘Helper Plan’, which is a template for children to nominate their support network of trusted people to talk to when they feel unsafe or unsure. The education team takes time to present this at the end of the Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show and encourages this activity to take place in the classroom or with parents.

Educating children from a young age to recognise when they feel unsafe or unsure can assist in the process of reporting and gaining the support they need to protect them from harm.

The skills acquired through this program can also be applied to other scenarios that cause children to feel unsafe or unsure (examples include bullying, domestic violence, respect for privacy). The show also teaches them to be resilient and to keep on trying to seek the assistance they need to be safe.

Children below the age of three may not be able retain or fully understand the concepts presented. We recommend the gradual use of stories, posters or songs for much younger children to introduce concepts one at a time.

It is challenging for very young children to understand and retain all the key messages presented in the show due to their minimum amount of life experience and their ability to concentrate for the duration of time it is presented (being between 25-35 minutes).

Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show does not involve sex education. The Show presents safety strategies that lead children to seek the appropriate assistance if or when they feel unsafe.

The show includes identifying the private parts of the body and body ownership as part of the process but at no point is the word ‘sex’ referred to or ‘sexual intercourse’ explored or explained.

We have several Education Teams located along the Eastern Board of Australia stretching from Cairns down to Tasmania.

For more remote schools and centres, we have produced a DVD of the show and have our Ditto in Box resources, which can either complement the show or work as stand-alone program of study.

Children will be empowered by the tools that are presented to help them recognise the difference between a safe and unsafe scenario and what to do to gain assistance.

The following content is stepped through to assist this process:

• Recognition of feelings
• Recognition of warning signs
• Body ownership
• Understanding different secrets
• Who to tell when you need help

One of the main aims of the show is to encourage young children to develop a support network and to realise it is OK to ask for help when they feel unsafe or unsure. In addition, the show stresses the importance of resilience in terms of not giving up if you can’t find help the first time you try.