By Tess Rowley
Reading to young children not only gives you a shared experience of the joy of
story-telling, it also may lead to helpful conversations.
This can have a lasting influence on a child, developing a better understanding of
the issues raised. It also keeps you informed on what a child is learning so that
you can support and endorse the messages the book is giving.
Everyone’s Got A Bottom is one such book. Read with your young child, it
normalises language of personal body parts by using the correct anatomical
names. If your child is pre-verbal, the delightful illustrations, where Soxy the cat
appears on every page, will keep a toddler engaged, searching for ‘where’s
Soxy?’ At the same time, your child is hearing the correct anatomical words.
For a pre-school/ primary school child, it encourages the belief that ‘my body
belongs to me and demonstrates body ownership and privacy through story line
examples.
A repetitive phrase, ‘From my head to my toes I can say what goes,’ endorses
the body ownership message and opens up a conversation about who you could
tell if someone is making you feel uncomfortable.
It’s important that you support these beliefs in everyday situations. One example
in the book is the ‘’not having to kiss people if you don’t want to’. Teaching your
child a respectful way of dealing with these situations is helpful in building their
confidence.
Having these gentle conversations with your child in an everyday way
demonstrates your willingness to engage about those sometimes ‘hard to talk
about subjects’.
Once your child is comfortable speaking about their body, and know they can talk
to you or other designated adults, you’re well on the way to helping keep your
child safe.
You can also refer to the parent and carer notes in the back of the book for additional activities to keep this topic as part of an ongoing conversation about kids body safety.