Empowering preschoolers through demonstration: enhancing knowledge on good touch and bad touch for early child protection

Abstract

Introduction: Child sexual abuse remains a serious concern worldwide and in India, with increasing cases reported annually. Preschool children are highly vulnerable due to limited awareness and inability to distinguish safe from unsafe touch. Providing early, age-appropriate body-safety education helps children recognize, refuse, and report inappropriate behavior. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the demonstration method on knowledge regarding good touch and bad touch among preschoolers in Lucknow city.

Material and Methodology: A pre-experimental one-group pre-test–post-test design was adopted. Thirty preschoolers aged 3–5 years were selected by purposive sampling. A structured, validated questionnaire with 20 items assessed knowledge. Each correct response scored 1 (maximum 20). After the pre-test, a demonstration using dolls, charts, and role-play was conducted, followed by a post-test. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: The mean knowledge score improved from 2.23 ± 1.36 to 14.63 ± 2.05 after the intervention, with a mean gain of 12.30. The difference was highly significant t-stat=27.416, p < 0.0001). No significant association was found between post-test knowledge and gender or residential area.

Conclusion: The demonstration method significantly enhanced preschoolers’ knowledge on body safety. The approach is simple, cost-effective, and suitable for urban and rural settings. Incorporating such modules into preschool and community health programs can promote early prevention of child sexual abuse.