Off Limits

With stories about sexual offenders so often in the news, parents may find themselves asking, “Is there anything I can do to protect my children?” The answer is a resounding yes, according to the authors of the new book Off Limits: A Parent’s Guide to Keeping Kids Safe from Sexual Abuse published by Safer Society Press.

In Off Limits, Sandy K. Wurtele and Feather Berkower, two of the leading child sexual abuse prevention experts, have assembled 32 Safety Tips parents can use to make their kids, their homes, and their communities “Off Limits” to sexual offending.

Wurtele and Berkower describe their goal for the book as providing a “tool kit” for keeping kids safe from abuse. “You can readily apply what you have learned in this book to your own family,” they write, “as well as to your children’s schools, youth organizations, sports teams, communities of faith, and other groups to which they belong.”

Readers of Off Limits will come away with an understanding of how sexual abuse happens, and a plan of action to shield children from abusers. The authors describe four survivors of child sexual abuse to show typical examples of abuse and how knowledgeable adults might have intervened. Sample dialogue gives parents ways to begin discussing sexual abuse and safety issues with their kids.

Off Limits includes four reproducible handouts summarizing the material in the book, which may be copied for personal use. Downloadable PDF copies are also available from the Safer Society web site.

“Feather and Sandy have created a common-sense, practical guide,” says Brenda Burchard, executive director of the Safer Society Foundation. “Off Limits is aimed at parents, first and foremost, but anyone concerned with the well-being of children will find the book of great value.”

Off Limits is available from the Safer Society Press online store for $20 plus shipping and handling.

The authors are available for interviews. For more information, please contact Stephen Zeoli at 802-247-3132. 

Safer Society Press is the publishing program of the Safer Society Foundation, a private, non-profit agency working to end sexual abuse and its detrimental effects on society.