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Join Ken and Michelle as they sit down with Sonja Howerton. She serves as the Executive Director at the Idaho Network of Children's Advocacy Centers, contributing to the organization's mission to enhance responses to child maltreatment and promote healthy futures for children.

As children head back to school, families are busy buying supplies, adjusting routines, and preparing for a successful year. It is also the perfect time to refresh the conversations and safety practices that help protect children both in and out of the classroom. From reviewing family safety rules to checking in about new teachers, coaches, and after-school activities, small conversations can have a lasting impact.-(The Advocate)

Back-to-School Safety Checklist for Parents & Caregivers

Review family safety rules.
Talk about body safety, boundaries, consent, and remind your child that they can always tell a trusted adult if something makes them uncomfortable.

Identify trusted adults.
Help your child identify safe adults that you have personally gotten to know and trust at school, in sports, after-school programs, and within your family.

Know who is caring for your child.
Learn about your child's teachers, coaches, volunteers, and after-school providers. Ask about supervision policies, screening practices, and child protection procedures.

Review pick-up and emergency plans.
Make sure your child knows who is allowed to pick them up, what to do if plans change, and how to reach trusted adults.

Talk about technology.
Review expectations for phones, gaming, messaging, and social media, and encourage your child to tell you if anything online makes them uncomfortable.

Check in often.
Rather than asking, "How was school?" try open-ended questions like:

* What was the best part of your day?

* What stands out to you about today?

* Who did you spend time with today?

* Was there anything different about today?

* Tell me about that.

RESOURCES:

Idaho Network of Children's Advocacy Centers Website:

https://cacidaho.org/

Stewards of Children Training: Every child deserves a safe, healthy childhood, and every adult has a role to play in protecting children from abuse. Stewards of Children® is an evidence-informed, award-winning training designed to educate adults on how to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.

https://cacidaho.org/events/scheduled-trainings.html/event/2026/09/24/stewards-of-children

LOCATIONS (Idaho):

https://cacidaho.org/child-advocacy-center/what-is-a-child-advocacy-center.html

Donate to CACIdaho:

https://cacidaho.org/donate.html

NetSmartz:

NetSmartz is NCMEC's online safety education program. It provides age-appropriate videos and activities to help teach children be safer online with the goal of helping children to become more aware of potential online risks and empowering them to help prevent victimization by making safer choices on- and offline.

https://www.missingkids.org/netsmartz/home

National Children's Alliance-The Force behind Children's Advocacy Centers

https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/

Find a Location near you: https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/nca-members/

Sponsored by the Idaho Children's Trust Fund
https://idahochildrenstrustfund.org/

The Resilient Parenting Podcast Facebook Group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/theresilientparentingpodcast