It’s a good idea to revisit personal safety strategies with young children on a regular basis because they learn well through repetition and reviewing the concepts. This could include up to four times a year or more, depending on how a young child retains or understands the information. We have resources to assist, such as our Parent and Carers Packs to reinforce key messages presented in Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Program.

Young children need a safety team of trusted adults they can talk to if they ever feel unsafe or unsure. This safety team should include trusted adults from their family or school but also contain contacts and phone numbers from official and recognised authorities. Parents and carers should also be aware of ‘who’ each contact is on their child’s plan.

This is an activity that needs revisiting on a regular basis because support contacts can change, move away or become no longer available to help. We have a Safety Team hand in our Activity Booklets which children receive after the live show, included in our learning modules, and can also be found in our Parent and Carers Packs.

It is also a good idea to discuss why they have chosen their adult supporters and a good moment to explore the meaning of trust and who they perceive to be a safe person and how they feel about them.

Yes, copies of the songs are available via our online learning modules. They help young children remember the key messages from the show including Feelings, Warning Signs, It’s My Body, Go and Tell and Ditto’s theme song.

There are many factors to consider when identifying ‘safe’ people but to explain the methodology used in the show, we base this heavily around children’s emotional literacy.

Emotional literacy is all about your feelings, identifying and recognising different kinds of feelings and ‘how’ to manage your feelings. The show presents tools to help young children begin to recognise when they could be in an unsafe or unsure situation and importantly, what to do next to gain help.

Short examples are used to practice recognition of feelings in a safe platform that includes positive and negative emotions, warning signs in the body, and what to do if you feel unsafe and unsure.

The show also presents the Safety Team which is a template for children to nominate their support network of trusted people to talk to when they feel unsafe or unsure. The education team takes time to present this at the end of the Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Show and encourages this activity to take place in the classroom or with parents.

Educating children from a young age to recognise when they feel unsafe or unsure can assist in the process of reporting and gaining the support they need to protect them from harm.

The skills acquired through this program can also be applied to other scenarios that cause children to feel unsafe or unsure (examples include bullying, domestic violence, and respect for privacy). The show also teaches them to be resilient and to keep on trying to seek the assistance they need to be safe.

The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse recommended that age-appropriate personal safety education begin in early childhood to build foundational knowledge. Starting early helps children develop body awareness, confidence, and communication skills, so this knowledge becomes second nature rather than something introduced only after a concern arises. It also gives children more opportunities to absorb these concepts gradually and repeatedly as they grow, reinforcing the message at each new stage of development.

Bravehearts Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure Program does not involve sex education. The Show presents safety strategies that lead children to seek the appropriate assistance if or when they feel unsafe.

The show includes identifying the private parts of the body and body ownership as part of the process but at no point is the word ‘sex’ referred to or ‘sexual intercourse’ explored or explained.

We have several Education Teams located along the Eastern Board of Australia stretching from Greater Brisbane down to Tasmania.

For more remote schools and centres, a digital version of each of the shows including support materials is available for purchase from Bravehearts’ online learning platform – braveheartslearning.org.au

Ditto’s Keep Safe Adventure program empowers children by giving them the language, knowledge, and confidence to act if they ever feel unsafe or unsure. When a child can recognise how safe and unsafe feelings show up in their body, they can trust and act on those feelings instead of second-guessing them. When they understand body ownership, they know they have the right to say no. When they know that nothing is ‘too yucky’ to tell someone about, they’re less likely to stay silent out of shame or fear. And when they’ve already identified a Safety Team, they know exactly who to turn to for help, without hesitation. 

These important messages are reinforced through Ditto’s Three Rules: 

1. Everyone has the right to feel safe with people 
2. It’s OK to say no if you feel unsafe or unsure 
3. Nothing is so yucky that you can’t tell someone about it 

Early childhood services and schools within our education delivery regions can submit a booking enquiry via our online booking form.

Early childhood services and schools outside our delivery regions can purchase access to the digital Ditto program at braveheartslearning.org.au

Delivery regions:

• South-East Queensland, QLD
• Greater Western Sydney, NSW
• South Coast, NSW
• Greater Geelong, VIC
• State-wide, TAS