LUBBOCK, Texas — It’s a serious topic but an important one.
The Play it Safe program educates students about body safety and what to do if they think they are being abused.
It’s been in place since 2018 and taught in Lubbock schools and others around the South Plains.
“We talk about the three different types of touches,” explained John Wuerflein with the Children’s Advocacy Center. “The three touches are safe touch which makes us feel happy and loved. Unsafe touch talks about the physical abuse and confusing touch is the sexual abuse part of the program.”
Wuerflein says they teach students the safety rule: say no, get away and go tell.
The program teaches students from Pre-K through senior year what to do if they’re being abused.
“It’s done at an age appropriate level and each grade has their own curriculum and has their own video,” Wuerflein said.
And it’s making a difference.
“One school, it was Pre-K through 5th grade, and there was about 370 kids, it had four outcries of sex abuse in two days,” explained Wuerflein. “We get more outcries from this program because it’s so direct to the kids, even the preschool kids.”
Wuerflein says the more it’s talked about the better, to help decrease the number of children being abused in our community.
“It gives them that power that if something does happen they know what to do afterwards, but it also empowers them to stop something bad from happening to them,” Wuerflein explained.
The Children’s Advocacy Center is always looking for volunteers to help teach the Play it Safe program.
Contact them at 806-740-0251.
