Children and young people need to be able to keep themselves safe. Childcare workers can help by teaching them to develop strategies to protect themselves and make decisions about their own safety.
Children and young people need support to understand how to take responsibility for themselves and understand the consequences of their actions. They also need to be encouraged to trust their own feelings and opinions, especially in situations where they do not feel comfortable. Children and young people who receive support to make decisions are more likely to make informed choices, for example about sex or alcohol or drug use.
In order to safeguard children adults need not to be afraid to talk about abuse. Through a better understanding of abuse families/carers can take steps to keep their children as safe as possible. Children are safer when parents/carers make time to learn about abuse and signs of abuse. It is important that childcare workers and parents/carers talk to children and young people about ways of keeping themselves safe and answer any questions they may have. To keep themselves safe, children need to know that their body belongs to them, that they have the right to say no, and that they should tell a safe adult if they are worried. Children need to learn the correct names for the parts of the body and what to do if someone tries to touch them in a sexual way. It is important for young children to understand that no-one has the right to touch their private parts (other than for medical reasons) and that they should not touch the private parts of anyone else.
Discussing PANTS, an NSPCC resource, is a way parents/carers can have a conversation with young children to help keep them safe from abuse. The scheme conveys an important message for children as young as four years old to help keep themselves safe. Discussing these important messages regularly with children can help keep them safe.
To protect children clear boundaries need to be set which have been discussed with family members and other adults who spend time with the children. Adults need to appreciate and respect the child's choices and wishes, for example perhaps a child does not want to kiss people when greeting them.
family/carers boundaries can help children and their families/carers to protect themselves, for example by establishing the practice of an adult knocking on the door before entering a young person's room.
There is a need to be sensible about who can have access to children and parents/carers need to be aware of who is paying attention to their children and who they are friends with.
Technology poses a particular risk for children and young people, including cyberbullying, access to unsuitable websites and danger from adults trying to exploit children on-line. Some children and families/carers need support to use the new media safely. This includes using computers, tablets, phones, email messages, text messages, social media (Facebook and Twitter), chat rooms, forums, blogs, websites etc.
Settings can hold information sessions for parents/families/carers on the risks associated with social media use, internet use and mobile phones. Children and young people and their families can be supported in understanding the importance of agreeing boundaries for how much time a child spends watching television, online, on their mobile phone etc.
Parents/carers can install software to enable them to control and monitor the child's use of the internet but children and young people also need to understand the importance of not sharing personal information about themselves. Personal information can include a name, address and telephone number, where they live and which school they go to.
Adults need to support children and young people when interacting with friends online, by asking them to consider whether they would speak to 'real life' friends in the same way as they speak to online friends. Children and young people also need to consider carefully what pictures they share online and understand that it is impossible to get a picture back and that pictures can reach any part of the web.
Family/carers Safety: A guide for parents/carers to keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse
NSPCC: Online safety
Mae angen cymorth ar blant a phobl ifanc i allu cadw eu hunain yn ddiogel. Gall gweithwyr gofal plant helpu drwy eu dysgu i ddatblygu strategaethau i amddiffyn eu hunain a gwneud penderfyniadau am eu diogelwch eu hunain.
Mae angen cymorth ar blant a phobl ifanc i ddeall sut i gymryd cyfrifoldeb drostynt eu hunain ac i ddeall canlyniadau eu gweithredoedd. Mae angen anogaeth arnynt hefyd i ymddiried yn eu teimladau a'u barnau eu hunain, yn enwedig mewn sefyllfaoedd nad ydynt yn teimlo'n gyfforddus. Mae plant a phobl ifanc sy'n cael cefnogaeth i wneud penderfyniadau yn fwy tebygol o wneud dewisiadau gwybodus, er enghraifft ynghylch rhyw neu ddefnyddio alcohol neu gyffuriau.
Er mwyn diogelu plant mae angen i oedolion beidio bod ofn siarad am gamdriniaeth. Drwy ddeall camdriniaeth yn well gall teuluoedd/gofalwyr gymryd camau i gadw eu plant mor ddiogel â phosib. Mae plant yn fwy diogel pan mae rhieni/gofalwyr yn gwneud amser i ddysgu am gamdriniaeth a’i arwyddion. Mae’n bwysig bod gweithwyr gofal plant a rhieni/gofalwyr yn siarad â phlant a phobl ifanc am ffyrdd i gadw eu hunain yn ddiogel, ac ateb unrhyw gwestiynau sydd ganddynt. Er mwyn cadw eu hunain yn ddiogel mae angen i blant wybod bod eu corff yn perthyn iddyn nhw, bod ganddyn nhw hawl i ddweud na, ac y dylen nhw ddweud wrth oedolyn diogel os ydyn nhw’n poeni. Mae angen i blant ddysgu enwau priodol rhannau’r corff a beth i’w wneud os bydd rhywun yn ceisio eu cyffwrdd mewn ffordd rywiol. Mae’n bwysig i blant ifanc ddeall nad oes gan unrhyw un hawl i gyffwrdd â’u mannau preifat (oni bai am resymau meddygol) ac na ddylen nhw gyffwrdd â mannau preifat unrhyw un arall.
Mae trafod PANTS, adnodd gan yr NSPCC, yn ffordd gall rhieni/gofalwyr sgwrsio â phlant ifanc er mwyn helpu i’w cadw yn ddiogel rhag cael eu cam-drin. Mae’r cynllun yn cyflwyno neges bwysig i blant mor ifanc â phedair oed er mwyn helpu i’w cadw’n ddiogel. Mae trafod y negeseuon pwysig hyn yn rheolaidd â phlant yn gallu helpu i’w cadw’n ddiogel.
Er mwyn diogelu plant mae angen gosod ffiniau clir sydd wedi cael eu trafod gydag aelodau’r teulu/gofalwyr ac oedolion eraill sy’n treulio amser gyda’r plant. Mae angen i oedolion werthfawrogi a pharchu dewisiadau a dymuniadau’r plentyn, er enghraifft efallai nad yw plentyn eisiau cusanu pobl wrth eu cyfarch.
Gall ffiniau teuluol helpu plant a’u teuluoedd/gofalwyr i ddiogelu eu hunain, er enghraifft gellid sefydlu’r arfer bod oedolyn yn cnocio ar y drws cyn mynd i mewn i ystafell person ifanc.
Mae angen bod yn synhwyrol o ran pwy sy’n cael mynediad at blant ac mae angen i rieni/gofalwyr fod yn ymwybodol o bwy sy’n rhoi sylw i’w plant a gyda phwy maen nhw’n ffrindiau.
Mae technoleg yn peri risg arbennig i blant a phobl ifanc gan gynnwys seiber-fwlio, mynediad i safleoedd anaddas a pherygl gan oedolion sy'n ceisio ecsbloetio plant ar y we. Bydd rhai plant a’u teuluoedd/gofalwyr angen cefnogaeth i ddefnyddio’r cyfryngau newydd mewn modd diogel. Mae hyn yn cynnwys defnyddio cyfrifiaduron, tabledi, ffonau, negeseuon e-bost, negeseuon testun, cyfryngau cymdeithasol (Facebook a Twitter), ystafelloedd sgwrsio, fforymau, blogiau, gwefannau ac ati.
Gall lleoliadau gynnal sesiynau gwybodaeth i rieni/teuluoedd/gofalwyr ar y risgiau sy’n gysylltiedig â defnyddio’r cyfryngau cymdeithasol, y we a ffonau symudol. Gellir cefnogi plant a phobl ifanc a'u teuluoedd/gofalwyr i ddeall pwysigrwydd cytuno ar ffiniau ar gyfer faint o amser mae plentyn yn ei dreulio’n gwylio’r teledu, ar y rhyngrwyd, ar ei ffôn symudol ac ati.
Mae modd i rieni/gofalwyr osod meddalwedd i’w galluogi i reoli a monitro defnydd y plentyn o’r rhyngrwyd ond mae angen hefyd i blant a phobl ifanc ddeall pwysigrwydd peidio â rhannu gwybodaeth bersonol amdanynt eu hunain. Gall gwybodaeth bersonol gynnwys enw, cyfeiriad a rif ffôn, ble mae’n byw ac i ba ysgol mae’n mynd.
Mae angen i oedolion gefnogi plant a phobl ifanc wrth iddynt ryngweithio â ffrindiau ar-lein, drwy ofyn iddynt ystyried a fyddent yn siarad â’u ffrindiau ‘go iawn’ yn yr un ffordd ag y maent yn siarad gyda’u ffrindiau ar-lein. Mae angen i blant a phobl ifanc hefyd ystyried yn ofalus y lluniau y maent yn eu rhannu ar-lein a deall nad oes posib cael llun yn ôl a bod lluniau yn gallu cyrraedd unrhyw le ar y we.
Diogelwch Teuluoedd/gofalwyr: Canllaw i rieni/gofalwyr i gadw plant a phobl ifanc yn ddiogel rhag cam-drin rhywiol
NSPCC: Online safety
Use the thought shower to note as many ideas as you can think of
Defnyddiwch y gawod syniadau i nodi cynifer ag y gallwch o syniadau