Numerous social experiments have shown how most young kids will leave with a complete stranger within 30 seconds if they’re told the person’s name, given a treat or shown a puppy, despite being repeatedly told “Don’t talk to strangers”. Kate is the author of two books that distil tough subjects into child friendly material.Image: Supplied.Īnd the term itself implies someone who is dark and scary, so when approached by someone “nice”, the warnings get forgotten. Clearly there is a need for resources like this. Teamed with my husband, an expert in accelerated learning, we first tackled the tricky topic of body boundaries with My Underpants RULE! We were astounded by the positive reaction of parents, carers, educators and most importantly children around the world. How can I create tools that make safety topics fun for children to learn and easy for parents, carers and educators to teach? Also, many such topics are difficult for young children to grasp and parents to clearly articulate.

But parenting is a difficult, hectic job, and teaching safety lessons to our kids is usually a low priority on our busy agenda. Often, a lesson they should have taught their child to improve their chances of safety was the answer. “What could we have done to prevent this?” was the question haunting them. Then I’d find myself consoling other good parents, starkly reminded that no one is immune from becoming a headline. But I’m a good parent so that will never happen to my kids”. Like them, I had seen statistics or a story and secretly thought, “Those poor people. Their worst nightmares had come true and tragedy had struck their precious child.īeing a mother of three, I would see myself reflected in their eyes. As a police officer, it was the worst aspect of my job – dealing with distraught parents who couldn’t believe it had happened to them.

My Underpants RULE! by Kate Power