Evaluation of home-based programs for teaching personal safety skills to children.
A single BST booster after a parent storybook teaches every child safety skills that stick for months.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Parents tried to teach safety rules at home with a picture book called Red Flag, Green Flag. The kids did not master the skills, so a therapist added a short BST booster: model, practice, and praise.
After the booster, every child reached the mastery goal. Older kids still had the skills two months later.
What they found
The book alone was not enough. One quick BST session from a practitioner made the difference.
All children learned to say "no," get away, and tell an adult. The extra practice locked the skills in place.
How this fits with other research
Gross et al. (2007) later copied the home-BST idea and added in-situ drills for gun-play. Their parents also succeeded, showing the model extends beyond general safety.
Moya et al. (2022) reviewed 21 component studies and found half needed the full package. The 1988 paper is one of those cases—every part of BST mattered.
Hálfanardóttir et al. (2022) moved BST from parents to preschool teachers for life skills. Both studies show the same training steps work no matter who runs them.
Why it matters
You can save time and still protect kids. Send the book home, then drop in for one 20-minute BST booster. That small step turns a passive story into real safety behavior that lasts.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →After parents read the safety story, add one BST round: model the three steps, have the child practice twice, and praise correct responses.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
We evaluated the efficacy of a commercially available program, the Red Flag, Green Flag Prevention Book, used by parents to teach their children personal safety skills. Children's knowledge and skills regarding the prevention of sexual abuse and abduction were assessed prior to, during, and after training. In one group, training consisted of parents using the prevention book to train their children. Parents of children in the second group used the prevention book with added instructions. Children who did not achieve criterion performance after training with the prevention book received behavioral skills training provided by the experimenter. All children acquired safety skills following behavioral skills training. Follow-up probes 2 months later showed skill maintenance among the older children. Parents reported satisfaction with the procedures and no signs of behavioral or emotional problems following the follow-up probe.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1988 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1988.21-81