THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Young IPS officer Nishanthini R’s awareness class on preventing atrocities against children provided fresh insights for participants at the two-day workshop for district child welfare council members.
Citing examples from her own life - her experiences with rearing two children - she urged the council members to make use of opportunities like weddings and other social gatherings to educate parents and elders on child safety.
“Workshops and seminars alone won’t help you reach out to the masses. Provide child safety tips during casual talks with friends, relatives and neighbours. It does not require a special platform,” she said.
The officer said several parents tend to hush up the ill-treatment meted out to their children by an abusive relative or neighbour. “Their reactions end with asking the kid not to visit the person anymore. But unless the abuser is exposed in the society, he would continue his act with other victims,” she said.
Citing her personal experience, she said motherhood required more professionalism than her police job. “Everyday I spend a lot of time talking to them - asking about their day’s activities. While bathing them I’d tell them not to allow anyone to touch their private parts,” she said.
Parents should become role models for children and it does not require high education to bring up good children. “My role model is my mother who only had school education. But she was a great parent and would ask me every day about my activities,” she said.
Nishanthini said the police are receiving large number of requests from schools to conduct awareness classes for students. “Earlier prominent schools turned their back on our request to conduct classes on cyber safety, traffic and anti-drug abuse. Now the situation has changed for good,” she said.