Teaching Children to 'Yell & Tell' When Molested
Child molestation – draining words to any parent – is a hard topic to teach young children. But author Debi Pearl took on the job by teaching children as young as three or four the difference between a caring touch and one that is set to trigger broken hearts.
Shortly after publishing a book for women, Pearl received thousands of letters from young brides who had been sexually molested as children. While trying to answer each letter she realized that preparing children could possibly prevent them from uttering in their adult lives the words, "I never told anyone; I was afraid."
Through her Yell and Tell series, one for girls and one boys, she hopes to guide children, informing them that he or she needs to "yell so loud and yell so long."
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She told The Christian Post, "You don't need to scare them or destroy their innocence when training them to yell and tell. More importantly, it opens dialogue. The stories provoke children to want to be like Sara Sue and tell their mom."
Her book has already fulfilled its purpose with at least one young woman who had been abused since the age of three by her stepfather. While her stepfather banned the book as "unfit for his children" when he found it, she managed to work out a plan that will eventually end the man's days as a predator.
The discreet story and pictures captures the essence of what a child should look out for when someone "sit[s] you tightly on his lap pretending that he cares. But when no one else can see he touches you down there."
Pearl noted that it is especially important for children to identify whether someone is a bad person because studies show that 90 percent of child molestation will come from someone close to the family.
The book carefully "opens up the child to consider the fact that bad guys might be deceiving even mom and dad," said Pearl.
In the story of Samuel Learns to Yell & Tell, she writes, "I'll tell you of God's enemy. He often seems so very sweet, and you may think he's really neat. He comes with gifts and words that flatter knowing that he will leave you SADDER."
The delightful Pearl only hopes to open up an avenue to talk about the topic, as well as prepare children by having them confidently say, "Don't fear, Mama Dear, I'll do just like you say, I'll YELL my very loudest even though he says be quiet. Everyone will hear me, everyone will know, I will defeat this evil foe."
Pearl concluded by saying, "Knowing this will not foolproof them from sexual predators, but it will alert them on what to do if someone should approach them."
