Teach Children the Safety Skills Needed for Living in an Unsafe World
New curriculum for Christian schools and homeschool families help children develop wisdom and discernment for potentially dangerous situations
Sadly, we live in a world where child abuse can happen in any community, even a faith-based one. That’s why it is vitally important to teach children the safety skills that will help protect themselves from mistreatment, unsafe situations, violence, bullying, cyber-crimes, predatory behavior, abuse, and other kinds of danger that they might encounter. A new curriculum designed for Christian schools teaches children how to confidently assess and respond to potentially unsafe situations and people.
The Safeguards School Curriculum: Equipping Kids with Safety Skills is a six-unit curriculum that teaches elementary grades abuse awareness and prevention from a biblical worldview, based on the principles in the book Safeguards, by family counselor Julie Lowe. Written by Lowe, and educators Lynne Little, and Angela Ruiz (all with extensive experience in counseling, education, and curriculum formation), the curriculum emphasizes scriptural truth as the foundation for developing the wisdom and discernment needed by children to be safe.It is the first school-based curriculum that combines child safety training with a biblical worldview, offering an understanding of both the dangers children face and God’s power to overcome.
“While many abuse prevention programs exist, most are rooted in secular, humanistic ideologies that often conflict with biblical values on topics such as identity, sexuality, and authority. This curriculum was developed to address the need for biblically grounded abuse prevention training that empowers children without compromising theological integrity or sacrificing childhood innocence,” Little explains. “In today’s world, Christian schools face a moral and spiritual responsibility to protect the children in their care. Abuse prevention is not just a legal requirement—it is a gospel-driven calling.”
The school curriculum is divided into two age levels (K–grade 2 and grades 3–5) and employs stories, puppets, role plays, crafts, and a variety of hands-on activities to teach about wisdom and discernment. Topics addressed include learning to say no, respect and privacy, being lost, and bullying. Each lesson includes a take-home paper to educate and equip parents to continue the conversations started at school.
“This curriculum should be used in Christian schools to support the family in their task to raise God-fearing, wise, discerning young people,” Lowe shares. “The first line of defense is the home, and the second is the Christian community we place our young people in. The more we can equip both parents and kids to know God and His ways, the more discerning and safer they will be.”
In addition to the school version of the curriculum, Safeguards Homeschool Curriculum is available for homeschooling families. This edition is designed for ages 7 through 11 (grades 2 through 5) and includes three units from the Safeguards School Curriculum—Discernment (Unit 1), Evaluation and Wisdom (Unit 2), and the Courage to Say No (Unit 3).
Developed in partnership with the Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP) which provides awareness, accreditation, and resources to Christian organizations who are serving children, the Safeguards curriculum helps to protect children and equip them to live wisely and securely in God’s world. Every lesson is built on Scripture, helping children develop godly wisdom and reminding them of the presence and power of God in every circumstance.
The Safeguards School Curriculum and Safeguards Homeschool Curriculum are available in downloadable and USB formats at newgrowthpress.com.
Safeguards School Curriculum: Equipping Kids with Safety Skills
Safeguards Homeschool Curriculum: Equipping Kids with Safety Skills
By Lynne Little, Julie Lowe, and Angela Ruiz
Digital Download School 978-1-64507-519-6 / Retail Price: $599.00
Digital Download Homeschool 978-1-64507-590-5 / Retail Price: $149.99
RELIGION / Christian Education / Children & Youth
Lynne Little, EdD, is the founder of Compass Education LLC, a consultancy resulting from a career in Christian education that spans more than twenty-five years. She has worked as a classroom teacher, a school administrator, and a K–12 academic dean covering curriculum, credentialing, testing, and accreditation. Little contracts with schools across the United States and internationally for consulting and project management, particularly in curriculum development, professional development workshops, and accreditation processes.
Julie Lowe, MA, LPC, RPT-S, is a licensed professional counselor with over twenty-five years of counseling experience. She is also a registered play therapist supervisor and has developed a play therapy office to better serve families, teens, and children. Lowe is author of the books Child Proof, Safeguards, Building Bridges, and A Student’s Guide to Body Image, as well as the minibooks Helping Your Anxious Child, Teens and Suicide, Helping Your Child With a Bully, and Safety for Kids. Julie and her husband, Greg, have five children and serve as foster and adoptive parents.
Angela Ruiz, PhD, leads the academic operations at Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis, IN, with responsibility for students, educators and principals. Ruiz is a certified academic leader with over twenty years of experience in the K–12 schools. Her education experience includes Academic Director, Director of Curriculum, building level administrator, Title One director, classroom teacher, school improvement leader, science specialist and a high abilities coach. Cited by the Department of Education as an influential educator to watch, Ruiz empowers educators with the skills needed to drive success in the classroom with mastery teaching and assessment that drives instruction.
The Evangelical Council for Abuse Prevention (ECAP) is a national association of Christian ministries dedicated to child and youth protection. ECAP does this primarily through established Child Safety Standards, which are the basis for an independent validation process that results in accreditation. The mission of ECAP is to help ministries create safe places free from abuse where kids can hear the gospel and grow in discipleship.
For review copy and interview information, contact:
Audra Jennings – audra@newgrowthpress.com
