How To Raise A Happy Genius

My Body! What I Say Goes! by Jayneen Sanders is a book designed to teach children about various aspects of body safety, such as feelings, safe and unsafe touching, private parts, the differences between secrets and surprises, consent and developing respectful relationships. All this information is presented in a child-friendly and non-frightening manner.

Some parents may worry that introducing their children to these issues will, in some way, harm them or take away their innocence, but in this book they are dealt with skillfully and sensitively and such worries should never be allowed to get in the way of teaching children about body safety. This is because the potential impact of not introducing children to these topics far out-weighs any uneasiness that parents may feel about doing so.

For me, body safety is a core life skill that children need to develop, and in particular, it is essential that they development of strong mental, physical and psychological boundaries. This is not only gives them the tools to help protect themselves from predatory adults, it also is the starting point for giving them the skills to develop good and respectful interpersonal relationships as they move into their teenage years. In particular, teaching children that they have the right to say no from an early age provides building blocks which will help them resist peer-pressure, stand up to bullies and avoid being taken advantage of in later life.

The topics covered in this book include: Feelings and why it is important to talk about them with an adult your child trusts, feeling safe and what a child should do it they ever find themselves in a situation where they don’t feel safe, what early warning signals their body gives them that things aren’t right and what to do if they feel them, the importance of having a safety network who a child can speak to about anything, what private parts are and why need to be kept private, the differences between secrets and surprises, and, finally, what personal space is and why even children have a right to say who can enter it (and when). There is also a section at the end for discussion points related to each section that can be used to reinforce and build on the lessons and skills learned from reading this book.,

Basic Book Information: ISBN: 978-1-925089-26-4; Date of Publication: July 2016; Number of pages: 34. To purchase in the UK, click here. To purchase in the USA, click here.

What Age Of Child Is It Aimed At? This book is aimed at children aged between about four and eight, and the parents of such children.

How Long Will It Take To Read This Book? This book will take about ten minutes to read through, but make sure you leave extra time to discuss the contents with your child, and answer any questions they may have. I would also recommend reading this book regularly with your child to help ensure that the messages it contains get through to them.

What I Like About This Book? I like this book because it provides a great starting point for introducing children to a range of ideas and concepts related to body safety, including personal space, private parts, and feelings. In particular, I love the idea of encouraging children to identify adults in their lives who they trust and who can act as members of their safety network (and who they can turn to to talk about things, if they need to). Similarly, I love the distinction that is made between secrets and surprises (secrets should never be kept, while surprises can be because they will come out eventually anyway). There are few books which I would say are essential to have in your child’s library, but this is one of them. In fact, I’ve ended up buying quite a few copies myself to give out to give out to pretty much every parent I know with young kids.

What Core Life Skills Will It Help Develop? This book will encourage children to develop strong mental physical and psychological boundaries, and help them understand that they have a right to say no if anyone tries to breach them, no matter who they are or what position of authority they are in.

Are There Other Books By The Same Author? This is just one of a series of books written by Jayneen Sanders which are specifically designed to educate children about body safety, and I would recommend all of them. They include No Means No, Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept, Let’s Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent And Respect, and Body Safety Education. UK-based parents can find out more about these books here, while US-based parents can find out more here.

Links To Purchase This Book

To Purchase In The UK

To Purchase In The USA

About The Author: This post was written by Colin Drysdale, the creator of How To Raise A Happy Genius.

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