Thanksgiving is coming! Grammy, Grandpop! Aunties, Uncles, Cousins! Yay! We love those big, boisterous family and friend gatherings! Hugs and all the feels throughout the winter holiday season!
Yay!
Norman Rockwell’s classic painting, “Freedom From Want”
Right?
Of course we want our kids to have warm and loving relationships in our circle of friends and family. Of course we want Auntie Lou and all our venerable elders to feel honored and respected at these important get-togethers.
But,
On the other hand, we know the scary statistics about child sexual abuse*. And the greater likelihood that an abuser is a close and trusted individual, rather than some lurking random stranger. Gut crunching awfulness. Protective instincts kick in. That’s it! No more of Lou’s cheek pinches. No more cousin Zeebie’s surprise tickle strikes.
But, for forks’ sake! How to juggle keeping the kids safe, while not riling up a plateful of hurt feelings at the Thanksgiving table!?!
Good News, Everybody!
Here’s the picture book you need. Empower your elders, family and friends to give your child the gift of autonomy and consent. Everybody, Every Body! is a celebration of the bodies we live in and the wonderful feelings they can give us. It explores the importance of respecting other people’s bodies, and introduces the concept of consent in a child-appropriate way, encouraging both children and adults to ask before touching and to respect the boundaries of others.
And guess what else!
You can share the vital concepts of consent and autonomy with your family and friends right now without using the words, “child sexual assault” or any of the other scary words.
cover image of “Everybody, Every Body!” by Emmalinda MacLean, A child with bright blue skin and long dark magenta hair looks deep in thought.
That’s right! Everybody, Every Body! doesn’t contain language about private parts, pedophilia, predators, or sexuality. Instead it’s a colorful picture book that explores what it means to live in a body, and illustrates—in a child-friendly way—the range of wonderful feelings and experiences our bodies can give us.
This Thanksgiving the conversation doesn’t have to be about sex, because consent and bodily autonomy are important in all human interactions.
But hey, we at MoreThanSex-Ed love talking about sex! No shame in that! We’re just saying, consent and autonomy are foundational. Let’s start with establishing some great family/community habits like asking if someone would prefer a fist bump instead of a kiss. And respecting a person’s boundaries if they don’t want to sit on your lap. Get a handle on managing our feelings and not taking it as a personal rejection when tiny baby-boo recoils and wails if we reach out to hold them.
We can always bring up the topic of sex later, at Jojo and Harley’s 40th wedding anniversary celebration!
In the meantime, buy the book here. Buy it right now from us, so we can send it to you in time to read aloud with the whole crowd on November 28th, while everybody is sitting around waiting for pumpkin pie. If you are in a rush, it’s also on Amazon, or Barnes and Noble, or the itunes store.
Click here to get a nifty pdf discussion guide with ideas about how to talk about consent with your kiddos and the whole gang, Free!
If you buy the book from us we’ll include a hard copy in your order.
* http://www.naasca.org/2012-Resources/010812-StaisticsOfChildAbuse.htm
