On Wednesday, December 3 our group visited a school to observe a puppet show done by the Child Abuse Prevention Program. We have worked with this organization before and the people are very nice and helpful. This organization puts on kid-friendly shows that express that some things are not safe, even for adults. Using puppets intrigues the kids and teaches them what to do when in a difficult situation. In the show we witnessed, there were two skits. One was about a boy who was abused by his mother, but told a teacher in his school. After he told things started to look up for him as his family started to attend counseling. The other was about a young girl who was sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend. She told one of her close friend’s father and he helped her through it. The moral of these skits is you should tell, and not to be embarrassed. Seeing how these puppets handled these complicated problems shows the children what to do. After the skits were finished, they would ask the puppets questions and give their responses. At the very end, if the children had extra questions or wanted to talk about their own experiences, they would stay after and speak to the specialists. We were surprised by how many kids stayed after, and I was actually concerned. I was worried because I hoped that these children were not having problems with their parents. Most of the kids were not abused, however some of the children actually were considered to report. This meant that the organization would call the services to ensure that they are in a safe environment. Seeing this show taught me more about child abuse, the organization, and kids reactions to it. Our group had a great experience and I am glad we got to observe how the idea of change is put into action.
