Some of My Favorite Body Safety Books

I have a large collection of books on boundaries and body safety due to my work with sexually abused and at-risk children. Today, I would like to share with you some of my favorites.

First up on the list is a book that is appropriate for very young children called Some Parts are Not for Sharing. It is exceptionally basic and can provide a good introduction to children on body safety. Great for parents that want to start out simple and may be nervous about body safety books.

Another book I love is My Body is Special and Private. This book is promoted by The Mama Bear Effect (who also provide excellent resources for body safety). It is also basic, but includes the medical terms for both male and female private parts. It also touches on acceptable behaviors and how to ask for help when needed. I love that the kids in this book are diverse which can be hard to find in body safety literature.

Do You Have a Secret? focuses more on "good" and "bad" secrets. Good secrets are secrets that make you feel good. Examples given in the book are knowing what mom is getting for her birthday, a secret handshake, or a surprise party. Bad secrets are secrets that make you feel yucky or confused. Examples in the book include an older kid stealing a younger kids lunch money or someone touching your in an inappropriate way. It encourages kids to trust their gut and tell an adult even if someone says to keep it a secret.

For parents looking for a body safety book from a Christian perspective, God Made All of Me is a great choice. It incorporates appropriate scripture and teaches kids a healthy outlook of their body, body safety, and boundaries. Listed for children aged 2-8 years of age.

For children with special needs, I recommend the Exceptional Children's Guide to Touch. It is broken into chapters and includes all different kinds of touch and physical boundaries, including touching themselves.

Porn and inappropriate sexual content is incredibly easy for children to accidentally or intentionally access. Good Pictures, Bad Pictures and Good Pictures, Bad Pictures, Jr. are two great books to help protect your children against pornography or inappropriate content.

I highly recommend these last two books to other clinicians working with children who have been sexually abused. My Private Parts are Private!: A Guide for Teaching Children about Safe Touching is engaging and interactive with a gender neutral protagonist. It does include questions that can encourage disclosure so be prepared.

Some Secrets Should Never Be Kept is a great book to read to a child client that has experienced sexual abuse. It touches on both mother and child being groomed, the fears that can keep a child from disclosing, and a very appropriate response from the mother when the child does disclose.

All of these books are available to purchase on Amazon.com. Please let me know if you have any comments, questions, or other bibliotherapy topics you would like to hear about.