# Complete child protection exercises

Part of the Star Scout guide: [Introduction & Overview](https://scouting.university/scouts-bsa/ranks/star/guide/index.md)

*6. Personal Protection*

> **6a.** With your parent or guardian, complete the exercises in the pamphlet *How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide*.

The pamphlet *How to Protect Your Children from Child Abuse: A Parent's Guide* is a critical resource created by Scouting America to help families identify, prevent, and respond to potential abuse and exploitation.

## Finding the Pamphlet

This guide is bound into the front section of your rank requirements literature and is also available digitally through the official Scouting America Youth Protection portal. 

## Core Topics Covered in the Exercises

Completing the exercises with your parent or guardian involves reading through the material together and discussing practical safety scenarios:

- **The Three R's of Personal Safety**:
  - **Recognize**: Identifying unsafe situations, predatory behaviors, boundary violations, or inappropriate physical, verbal, or digital attention.
  - **Resist**: Confidently saying "No," setting firm personal physical boundaries, and leaving an uncomfortable or unsafe situation immediately.
  - **Report**: Immediately telling a trusted adult (parent, guardian, teacher, counselor, or Scoutmaster) about what happened, even if someone told you to keep it a secret.
- **Physical Boundaries & Respect**: Understanding that you have the absolute right to personal physical privacy and bodily autonomy.
- **Digital Boundaries**: Navigating social media, text messages, gaming chat rooms, and private messaging safely. Understanding the risks of sharing photos, passwords, or personal location details.
- **Peer-to-Peer Safety**: Recognizing bullying, hazing, cyberbullying, or harassment among peers, and knowing how to be an active upstander rather than a passive bystander.

## Completing the Family Discussion

Set aside quiet, uninterrupted time with your parent or guardian to work through the discussion checklists and review the scenarios in the guide.

**Family Protection Checklist** — Steps to fulfill Requirement 6a

- [ ] Read through the pamphlet together with your parent or guardian.
- [ ] Complete each of the discussion questions and family safety exercises.
- [ ] Establish a family emergency safety plan and identify who your trusted adults are.
- [ ] Have your parent or guardian sign off in your advancement record upon completion.

> **Safety First!**
>
> Never keep secrets about situations that make you feel uncomfortable, frightened, or confused. Abuse thrives on secrecy. If someone asks you to keep a secret that feels wrong, tell a parent, guardian, or trusted adult immediately.

---

- Previous: [Serve in position of responsibility](https://scouting.university/scouts-bsa/ranks/star/guide/req5/index.md)
- Next: [View Personal Safety Awareness videos](https://scouting.university/scouts-bsa/ranks/star/guide/req6b/index.md)