When the competition was over, the coach reported to me that they had a debrief with the kids, during which the judges asked the kids to keep secret, for a couple of months, what had gone on in the competition room. The judges also said, ‘don’t even tell your parents!’ Apparently, my daughter raised her hand and said, in front of the whole group, ‘My mom says that we don't keep secrets and that I can tell my mom and dad everything.’
I could not have felt more proud of our daughter or more pleased about her safety in this moment.”
Boss of Body
Some parents are concerned that if a child thinks he is the boss of his body, the child will ‘talk back.’ Here’s a great example of how a mom and her child practiced the body-safety concept. THIS is an off-limits kid in the making!“I’ve been teaching my two-and-a-half-year-old daughter that she is the boss of her body. She was over tired and didn’t want to get out of car seat. I picked her up and she screamed, ‘you bossed my body, Mommy.’
I replied, ‘I know sweetie, but you’re not safe in the garage alone and we have to go in the house. Mommy sees you’re really sad and mad, and it’s ok that you’re mad. You are the boss of your body, but sometimes Mommy has to touch or hold you to make sure you’re safe.’”
Child Sets Boundary with Sitter
While it’s a parent’s job to keep kids safe, by teaching body-safety rules to children, you empower them to speak up themselves. THIS is an off-limits kids!“My husband and I were out on a date and when we came home, our sitter told us that she was giving our son a bath and he said, ‘No one is allowed to touch my private parts, so I will wash my own butt.’ Our sitter knows our family’s body-safety rules and respected our son’s boundaries.”
