Teaching Kids Body Safety
August 15, 2018
Earlier this week, we had a family lesson on body safety. My husband and I realize how different raising children in this generation is and we want to be prepared by always having an open dialogue with our girls about sex. This is a tough topic to approach to our 5 and 3 year old and granted, we didn’t get into too many details. I found 3 books off of amazon that were extremely helpful in opening up this door of teaching children to respect their bodies and demand the same respect from others.
Each of these books teach that we are in control of our own bodies. “It’s my body, what I say goes!” I love how they talk about not having to give people hugs or kisses. Kids are free to choose when they show affection and should not be forced. This is something difficult when handling situations with grandparents, aunts/uncles who want to smother them in kisses. If the child isn’t in the mood to do so, we shouldn’t force them. They have control to say, “No, not right now” and give a high-five instead. If kids think they have to surrender to adults what happens when a stranger with ulterior motives demands affection?
Cultivating an open dialogue relationship with our children about their bodies by using correct terminology is also important. The books teach about how boys and girls are different which shows in how our swimsuits cover our “private parts”. If anything should ever happen where a child feels unsafe or violated, they need to know they can talk to their parents or another grown-up who they trust. Absolutely no secrets! It’s important to let our kids know they have a support system in place.
All of this seems scary and I hate that we have to teach our children at such a young age about the dangers they could potentially face. I’m grateful for so many good resources to aid this process in an age appropriate way. There are many other books for older children as well that I will link below. I would highly recommend getting an early start to educating your children and hopefully avoid (or at least minimize) sexual abuse in their future.
