Some Secrets Should Never be Kept

November 24, 2012 by Together We Heal 2 Comments

While I am not in the mindset of “pushing goods” on this blog, there is a children’s book that you MUST get if you have any children in your life. Whether they are your children or someone else’s, please help make the topic of childhood sexual abuse just ever so slightly easier to broach with them by using this remarkable tool.

The author is Jayneen (Jay) Sanders and she is an Australian author, teacher and mother of three daughters. And on a personal note, she is a delightfully caring woman.

Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept is a beautifully illustrated picture book that sensitively broached the subject of keeping our children safe from sexual abuse. We teach our children road safety and water safety but how do we teach our children essential skills in self-protection? Through story we can discuss difficult topics. This book was written to help parents, teachers and health care providers broach the subject in a non-threatening way. It is an important book and one that all children need to hear. Forewarned is forearmed and if a situation like the one Sir Alfred encountered in the story were to happen to a child, they could draw on what they have learned and speak up!

Please see a YouTube clip of Debra Byrne, Australian actress and singer (herself a survivor of childhood sexual abuse) read Some Secrets.

http://youtu.be/4YjJ1MreZqs

For more info about the book, testimonials and sample pages the website is:

www.somesecrets.info

I believe this is an important book, one of great value to both parents and professionals. Age range: 3 to 12 years. Discussion questions are featured in the back of the book to facilitate open dialogue with the children.

With 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys being sexually abused before they reach 18 years old and with 93% of those kids knowing their perpetrator, it is crucial we teach body safety to our kids. We need parents to make ‘body safety’ just a normal part of their parenting conversation.

See also these articles re: Some Secrets

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/drive/drawing-room3a-martin-flanagan-and-jayneen-sanders/3967612

http://m.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/a-childrens-book-about-sex-abuse-lets-discuss-20120504-1y48j.html

http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/books/telling-the-story-of-child-abuse-means-giving-children-tools-to-speak-out-says-author-20120301-1u60i.html

http://goodmenproject.com/good-feed-blog/a-book-to-help-talk-to-kids-about-sexual-abuse/

http://www.chantellebaxter.com/some-secrets-should-never-be-kept

http://melindatankardreist.com/2012/04/some-secrets-should-never-be-kept-new-book-to-help-parents-and-kids-discuss-inappropriate-touch/

And believe it or not, neither myself nor this foundation are making one penny from this endorsement – I just know that if someone had read a book like this to me as a child, there is a chance I may not have been a victim of childhood sexual abuse. While there are no guarantees, as we all know, knowledge is power, and as a child I had neither, and the end result was a 2 1/2 year systematic destruction of my innocence, childhood and faith in those around me.

GET the book, READ the book and most importantly, TALK about the book WITH your children.

Anything that might help protect your children from the hands of a sexual predator is a priceless investment.

Respectfully

David Pittman

Author: Together We Heal

In 2006 David took the first step in a long and painful journey back from the abyss of addiction and self-destruction. He promised his dying father that he would get clean. And he did. But as he cleaned his body and soul, he began to confront the sexual abuse that his addiction had for so long obscured — abuse perpetrated by a church youth minister when David was 12 to 15 years old. Those three years of abuse destroyed the foundation of love and faith that had been built by his family. For 25 years, David kept the abuse secret and lost himself in a fog of drugs and alcohol. He was by turns destitute, at times incarcerated. The promise to his dying father was the catalyst. And the bedrock of his mother’s love and devotion was the foundation on which David rebuilt his life. Therapy, 12-step meetings, and soul-deep determination were the bricks and mortar. David founded Together We Heal to provide fellow survivors and their families, guidance through the trauma of childhood sexual abuse. In 2015 he was asked to become a part of the Child Safeguarding Initiative team with GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) to empower the Christian community through education and training to recognize, prevent, and respond to child abuse. David represents Together We Heal & GRACE across the country as a public speaker and instructor; teaching churches, schools, and families how to talk with their kids about sexual abuse, how to better identify predatory behavior, and how to properly respond to those harmed. "To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world.” - Dr. Seuss