Consent and Body Autonomy for Kids and Teens!
We’ve found five awesome books to read with your kids and teens to help them understand consent and body autonomy.
This Is My Body: I Get to Choose, by Brook Sitgraves Turner, is perfect for preschoolers. It’s so rare to see picture books use photos rather than illustration, and the photos of a diverse range of kids practicing consent out in the real world is lovely to see! The accompanying text is rhythmic and simple enough for little kids to understand, making it a great read aloud: “my body is all mine and yours is all you…our bodies are ours and we get to choose”.
Equally joyful is Don't hug Doug (he doesn't like it) by Carrie Finison. It’s about a cheerful boy (our friend Doug) who likes a lot of things…but just not hugs! The book explains that some people like hugs and some people don’t, but you won’t know until you ask.
Yes! No!: A First Conversation About Consent, by Megan Madison, is a non-fiction book for 2–6-year-olds that explains consent in a simple, straight-forward way: "If someone says YES, it means you have their consent. But if they don't say YES, the answer is NO." Lots of familiar scenarios are explored, for example tickling and hugging, and a wide range of verbal and non-verbal ways in which a child might say no are illustrated.
For primary school age kids, Consent (for kids!): boundaries, respect, and being in charge of you is so so good! The author, Rachel Brian has a wonderfully playful way of successfully communicating big ideas and sensitive subjects. Simple (but somehow expressive?) stick figure illustrations are paired with clear and expertly presented information. Kids are taught how to establish boundaries and the importance of respecting themselves and others. They also learn what to do if someone makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe, and much more.
For the more mature tweens and teens in your life, you might like to try Welcome to Consent: How to say no, when to say yes and everything in between (also available as an eBook) by Australian adolescent health experts Yumi Stynes and Dr. Melissa Kang. Designed to empower tweens and teens in a variety of situations, including a section on sexual matters, it uses cartoon style illustrations, quotes from teens and adults, and an impressively diverse array of characters to explore this important topic.