My Body! What I Say Goes!

by Jayneen Sanders, Anna Hancock (Illustrator)

The crucial skills taught in this book will help children to protect their bodies from inappropriate touch. Children will be empowered to say in a strong and clear voice, "This is my body! What I say goes!" Through age-appropriate illustrations and engaging text this book, written by the author of 'No Means No!' and 'Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept', will teach children the following crucial and empowering skills in personal body safety: - identifying safe and unsafe feelings - recognizing early warning signs - developing a safety network - using the correct names for private parts - understanding the difference safe and unsafe touch - understanding the difference between secrets and surprises - respecting body boundaries. Approximately 20% of girls, and 8% of boys will experience sexual abuse before their 18th birthday (Pereda, et al, 2009). Parents, caregivers, and educators have a duty of care to protect children by teaching them Body Safety skills. These skills empower children, and go a long way in keeping them safe from abuse - ensuring they grow up as assertive and confident teenagers and adults. Also included in this book are in-depth Discussion Questions to further enhance the learning and to initiate important family conversations around body autonomy.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Parenting, Nonfiction, Bodies, Kids, Health

42 pages, Hardcover

Published June 12, 2017

Reviews

[siriusedward · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book for the age group..
Starts with exploring the emotions and feeling and understanding the body signs of feeling uncomfortable and then on to safe ad usafe feeling. Diffrence between surprise and secrets.whom to confide in .etc.
Good book for the 4 - 7 age group.
It also gives us questions to think on and discuss as we finish each topic.
Good pages and illustrations.Good explanations for the age group.

[Eli3abethreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how simply the author explains hard to talk about situations in a way that kids can understand. My 7 year old and I had a lot of discussions about the safety network and being uncomfortable that were bridged using this book.

Other topics:
private parts and their correct names
secret keeping
"feelings" and being uncomfortable
expectations for adults, including doctors
different family dynamics

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to begin to teach young children about body safety. I love that it includes secrets vs. surprises, and emphasizes the importance of correct terminology for private parts. There’s also a helpful section with discussion questions for parents.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been invaluable this year. My son’s curiosity about who has what body parts naturally flowed into a conversation about consent and what should be kept private. This book was so clear and concise and captured the stage he was at just right. The teddy bear in this book and the fact that Izzy isn’t drawn overtly girly made for more interesting conversations about gender and private parts.

No, teddy bears don’t have a penis. Toys don’t have penises. Ok, the robots on Storybots might have male and female voices, but robots don’t have private parts. Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead might have male and female voices in Toy Story, but they are still toys and still don’t have a penis or vagina. No, regular potatoes and French fries made from potatoes don’t have penises.

[Pablo Enrique · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book addresses the crucial topic of body autonomy for young readers, providing essential tools for understanding consent, boundaries, and personal safety. The text effectively introduces foundational concepts such as the difference between safe and unsafe touch, the distinction between secrets and surprises, and the use of correct anatomical language. A particularly commendable element is the framework for establishing a "safety network" of trusted adults, empowering children to seek help when they feel unsafe.

However, the text's central framework rests on a significant and potentially problematic assumption: the unwavering trustworthiness of parents. By repeatedly positioning parents as the default trusted adults, the narrative may inadvertently complicate the situation for a child whose source of unsafety is within the home. The absence of nuance on this point is a notable oversight, as it fails to provide guidance for those who might need protection from a primary caregiver.

Additionally, a brief note intended for adults introduces a specific moral stance on self-touch that may not align with all families' values. While a minor point, it feels like an unnecessary editorial inclusion. The artwork, while clear, also presents a limited scope of representation. The visual world is populated predominantly by a single demographic, which raises questions about the inclusivity of its message and the models of "safety" being presented.

In conclusion, this is a well-intentioned and useful resource that successfully introduces many vital concepts. Its overall effectiveness, however, is constrained by a critical blind spot regarding the complexities of family dynamics and a certain narrowness in its visual representation.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. When my daughter was four we had to read it in a couple sittings. This time at five was a refresher in one sitting. I like that the author includes the mouth as a private part, meaning "just for me," so that kids might recognize an abuse before it happens (she doesn't say this outright). I also like teaching kids to pay attention to their bodies' signs of being uncomfortable. So many other great things in this book and none inappropriate or too early for young kids. Worth owning.

[Hanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I work as a nanny, and so I’ve been starting to lowkey look for resources to share with parents about keeping their children safe and equipping their children with important skills. I thought that this book was very accessible and gave some very helpful strategies that are easy to implement. It seems aimed at readers who are maybe late preschool to mid-elementary school. I’m curious if I can find a good book for a slightly younger audience.

[nik · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have kids, you need this book. Parenting is tough and knowing we can't always be by our kids sides to make sure they are safe is scary. This book can help us teach them and help them to learn consent and what touch is safe and what is not okay. It's imperative to teach our children how to look after themselves when we aren't around and this book explains things in a way they can grasp.

[Kallie Desruisseaux · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3 year old is learning lots from this book about emotions, personal space, private parts, and body safety. He likes the book enough that we read it over and over, and he is learning to say "This is my body! What I say goes!". Of course when he says it, it is more like "Go body, go!" but you get the idea.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really like this book but of course I don't like the gendered language. If I were to read this with a child i would omit girl/boy and replace with child or "some bodies" when they talk about "private parts." I think I would also include that "private parts" or "no-touch parts" can be anywhere on your body that makes you feel uncomfortable or that you don't want anyone to touch.

[Veronika Pizano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Výborná kniha na zvedomenie hraníc, súhlasu a rešpektu. Tým, že sa cez knihu dookola opakuje veta Moje telo patrí mne, prakticky po dvoch-trochu čítaniach to už moje deti začali opakovať a pochopili, čo znamená stanovenie hraníc a vedeli to veľmi dobre aplikovať a mohli sme to aplikovať aj smerom na iných ľudí (aby neobjímali kadekoho kdekade).

[Chrys S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this for my 6 year old now 7 year old daughter. I wanted to implement into our reading routine books about personal empowerment and that she is in control of her body and who touches it. I highly recommend this book for boys or girls. I wish I had it with my 3 older sons.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very comprehensive and thoughtfully explained. We added that all body parts can be private, not just the ones people call “private parts”. I wish there were a better way of talking about the difference between secrets and information that’s simply private. But overall, I appreciate this book.

[Kim W · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my 5yr old and enjoyed the conversation which stemmed from it. We took some good information & still refer to parts of the book when having any further discussions of consent etc. I would definitely recommend for parents to read with their kids of a similar age.

[Angelita · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book talks different ways a child can set boundaries about their bodies and emotional. There are good ways to explain the body, what's private and the right to say no. There are also discussion questions within the storyline, but other questions to discuss after reading the book.

[Marjury · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Body! demonstrates understanding one's body, their personal boundaries, and how important consent is to a child. It allows children to learn when they can and should say no to being approached or touched.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book to get started talking to toddlers about their body and consent! I have a three year old that always picks up this book for me to read to him, and he goes “my body, what I say goes”! He grasped the concept of secrets vs surprises quite quickly. I definitely recommend

[Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome breakdown of explaining personal body safety, including recognizing emotions. Free resources linked in the back of the book as well as how to expand on the book when working with a child is helpful.

[Books With Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is great and I'm glad that we are teaching this to children!

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very important message for kiddos

[Solodchi Andreea · Rating 4 out of 5]

E o carte despre cum să le dăm copiilor putere și să-i învățăm despre siguranța corporală personală, atingeri permise și nepermise, zone intime, secrete, consimțământ și relații bazate pe respect.

[Alissa Peanasky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a great job of explaining tough subjects like body autonomy, predatory grooming, etc. It also has questions built-in and activities children can complete.

[Jackie Zimmermann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very wordy, but very necessary information presented in a child-friendly format.

[Kelsey Yongue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for teaching boundaries to children!

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not scary for my 8-year-old, and she had fun practicing saying, "Stop! My body. What I say goes."

[Mary2pakon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό...

[Susana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how this book explains so simple these essential topics for young kids

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a dense book but I think it could serve as a great conversation starter for many families wanting to talk about consent and body autonomy.

[Eswar · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife and I were looking for a book to teach our child about personal space, privacy, and her adult support network. This was a great book and actually discussion evoking.

However, my seven year old felt a little uncomfortable when I read her this book. Which means that we should have introduced it slightly earlier maybe and have had more discussions. This book sheds light on a great topic - but the wording may be a little scary/uncomfortable for children,

[Makenzie Hamilton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids can be the most at-risk when it comes to dangers being posed to, this book teaches bodily autonomy to kids which is so important to do.