THAT sex ed podcast
A podcast for parents and caregivers of children and adolescents. Join co-founders of Sex Education Australia, Justine Kiely-Scott and Jenny Ackland, as they discuss the topics parents can find difficult to talk about with their children. They cover WHAT topics can (or should) be talked about, WHY it's important that parents should be talking with their kids, and HOW they can manage these conversations. Each episode, Justine and Jenny take off their 'teacher hats' and put on their 'parent hats' to chat a bit more informally about the various challenges and delights of educating young people about sexuality and relationships, and a whole lot more.
THAT sex ed podcast
Special guest: Holly-ann Martin, founder of Safe4Kids talking with Justine
In this episode Justine talks with Holly-ann Martin, founder of Safe4Kids, which she established in 2011, to work towards child abuse prevention. In 2016, Holly-ann was inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame, and some people may not know but she’s a very accomplished swing dancer. Holly-ann is working towards the reduction of child sexual abuse and so all her programs are built around the concepts of protective education. With 88% of pornography showing violence against women, 45% of all child sexual abuse being child-to-child or teenager-to-child, and with a 122% increase in online grooming over the last three years (due to Covid and children being on screens more) it would feel like an uphill battle. However, Holly-ann is tireless and dedicated. She chats in this episode with Justine Kiely-Scott.
Topics covered:
- the remote and other work Holly-ann does
- why Holly-ann doesn’t use the term ‘pornography’ with children under 10; and how she does talk about sexual material online
- Holly-ann says ‘it’s not just pornography. It’s horror and violence as well’
- how children in Holly-ann’s classes tell her the main places they see pictures of naked people are on YouTube and TikTok, and then after that iPhones and iPads
- what parents need to tell their children, to prepare for them seeing something online
- what children fear most about telling their parents that they’ve seen something
- the importance of adults modelling healthy expression of feelings
- safe versus unsafe secrets
- the key online safety tips parents should be aware of
- how parents can report child exploitation; what they should do if they see something on their child’s phone (and what they should not do)
- how parents can manage risk to their child at playdates; what sorts of things to think about
- the concept of the ‘No Trouble Bubble’
- why using technology as a punishment (ie threats to take it away) might not be a good idea
- difference between feelings and behaviour
- importance of children learning how to describe behaviour, eg instead of just saying ‘they were teasing me’ being able to say exactly what the other child was doing
- idea of family code words
Links mentioned in the show:
Online agreement for families (sign up to receive free at the link below, as well as read tips on keeping your kids safe online)
https://safe4kids.com.au/strategies-to-help-ensure-your-child-is-cyber-safe/
YouTube channel with all Holly-ann’s songs (and lots of other useful videos)
https://www.youtube.com/user/Thesafe4kids
Poster: what to do if a child discloses abuse
https://safe4kids.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Safe4Kids-Disclosure.pdf
Common Sense Media (reviews of games and films for parents to inform themselves and help them make decisions)
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
eSafety Commissioner
https://www.esafety.gov.au/
Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE)
https://www.accce.gov.au/
ThinkUKnow
