TALKING ABOUT TOUCHING
“Talking About Touching” programs, which help
young children understand the difference between “safe
touches” and “unsafe touches,” are provided
to kindergarten students. Children learn how to resist unsafe
encounters and seek assistance from trustworthy adults.
“Talking About Touching” (TAT) was developed
by the Committee for Children (www.cfchildren.org) in order
to teach young children to resist unsafe situations, including
inappropriate touching. The program is researched based
and has been proven to increase children’s ability
to identify and respond to unsafe situations. TAT has been
delivered to kindergarten classrooms in various parts of
San Luis Obispo County since 1998. It includes an introduction
curriculum for the parents and three lessons taught in the
classroom over three weeks. Each new lesson reviews information
previously learned to reinforce the safety rules and “NO,
GO, and TELL” rule.
In 2007-2008 school year, a 2nd grade program will be presented
to San Luis Coastal Schools. Each year, new schools will
be added until, like the kindergarten program, the reinforcement
curriculum will be taught in all San Luis Obispo County
schools. The second grade program was able to expand because
of a $5,000 grant from Mission Community Bank.
If you need additional information regarding this program
you can contact the SLO-CAP office at 543-6216. This year
the Talking About Touching Educators are Dana Francis, Mary
Theilscher, and Lucia Barron.
Following are the successful outcomes of the TAT Program
for 2006-2007:
- 1921 kindergarten students from all regions of the
county participated in the TAT presentations to 100 classes.
- 141 parents participated in the parent education program.
- 30 schools participated in this educational program.
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