I’ve shared before about how Kyle and I are passionate about raising awareness of child sexual abuse, and sharing resources for children who have been abused and for their parents. We also love sharing resources and trainings for parents in general, in order for them to learn how to create an open dialogue with their children in the hopes of 1) preventing abuse from happening and/or 2) recognizing the signs of abuse and learning how to ask the right questions in order to get our children the help they need.

A few weeks ago, I randomly came across the new product ISH Toys, and I knew I needed to be involved. Pulled directly from their website: “The mission at I.S.H (In Safe Hands) is to provide a path for adults to comfortably and safely discuss topics with children that are normally avoided until children are young adults.  Our purpose is to develop educational tools that bridge the gap of communication between a child and caretaker when discussing closeted topics.”

I asked Lora, the creator of ISH to tell me a little about how the product came to be, and this is what she shared with me:

“The idea for this product came when I began discussing the topic of sexual abuse with my sister, Tera Brown. Tera is married to famous classical musician Ryan Brown of the Five Browns. A few years ago it came out that the three sisters of the group had spent most of their adolescence being sexually abused by their dad. Two of the sisters now run the Foundation for Survivors of Abuse, and have been an inspiration to me for as long as I have known them.

While talking to my sister about a year and a half ago, I told her that I really had the desire to create something that helps children become more educated about abuse. I started doing a lot of research on sexual abuse and found that one of the main issues is that children who are abused wait years before telling anyone what has occurred. This can lead to continued abuse on them or on another child. Waiting to tell also affects how they will function as adults. Another huge problem is that children are constantly being taught about the concept of Stranger Danger, leaving them confused when it is someone that they know and trust who is sexually abusing them. When it comes to sexual abuse, 93% of victims know their perpetrator. Imagine being a child and constantly being told that strangers are bad and that strangers can harm you, and then being hurt by a friend or family member. That would be confusing. Although Stranger Danger is a real issue, we should also be instructing our children that NO ONE, not a friend, not a family member, not a religious leader, NO ONE has the right to harm them or force them to do things that makes them feel uncomfortable.

I wrote the story after interviewing multiple survivors and parents about how they would want to talk to children about sexual abuse. I then designed the two main characters to look like something that a child would draw. It turns out when I was a child I used to draw characters like Longish and Shortish all the time. The dolls are meant to be comforting to a child. They are soft and cuddly. They do not look real people so they are not intimidating or scary. “

How amazing, right? It is so important to discuss the issue of body safety early in a child’s life, as well as promote a sense of security and safety, so your kids know that they can come talk to you about anything. (Another book we like that deals with body safety is It’s My Body.) Sadly, this issue is so prevalent in our society right now, but we can make a difference by raising awareness.

If you’d like to order the I.S.H. bundle to use with your own children, Lora has created a promo code that will give you 15% off your order. Just use the code SUNSHINE15 when you’re checking out. (These are pre-orders, but should ship in November.) It is our job as parents to protect our children. Obviously, we won’t always be right next to them, holding their hand. We can’t shelter them from all the bad things that can happen in the world, but with products like ISH Toys, we can equip them with the right tools to face those bad things.

Edit: I had to mention how much Abe loves these plush toys (and they are so soft!). He carries them around with him, calls Longish (the yellow one) Abe, and tells me they’re happy and friends. He also asks to read the story multiple times a day. I don’t think he understands what the story is actually teaching just yet, but he does understand that at the end, Longish is happy again, and that makes him happy. It’s darling.

Connect with ISH Toys: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

I received a free ISH bundle in exchange for a review and promotion. But all opinions are my own. Again, this topic is near and dear to my heart, and I’m thrilled and proud to be partnering with Lora and ISH.