How to talk to your children about their body

Everyone has a different kind of body. It is important for you to teach your child that it is okay to be different. You need to make your child comfortable in his own skin. But how do you make sure that your child doesn’t associate feelings of shame with his body?

1) Be open to any kind of conversations

It is obvious that you like happy conversations with your child, but what happens when they want to talk about something that is negative? You must be open to different kind of topics which might seem a little uncomfortable but are important. If you listen to your child and talk to them without any judgement, they will be natural around you and will tell you how they actually feel.

2) Let them own their bodies

As adults we have certain boundaries and comforts when it comes to others touching us in certain areas. Our children are allowed to have those same boundaries too. If some relative wants to kiss your child on the cheek despite him resisting it, rather than coercing your child into agreeing to what the relative wants, you should tell the relative that your child is not comfortable with it and he must find some other way to show his affection. By doing so you make your child believe that he owns his body.

3) Stop calling private parts “dirty” and refer to them with proper scientific names

If you call private parts dirty or associate shame with them it might create a taboo for your child. Refer to them with their scientific terms and rather than associating feelings of shame try associating feelings of respect. Tell your children what to call their private parts and make sure that you use the correct terms for the same.

4) Don’t associate guilt and shame with their body

You must remember that if your child confides in you regarding being touched by someone inappropriately, you mustn’t shush them. Tell them that what the person did was wrong and they can always come and talk to you about such things. Confront the person who touched your child. Nothing is more important than the safety of your child.

Hopefully this article will help you talk to your child about his body without any fears.