Life Lessons Preschool: You Are In Charge of Your Body

  
--Life Lessons Preschool--  

Everything I want my children to know before they start school

Lesson 3

"You are in charge of your body."

This is such an important lesson for kids to understand for so many reasons.  My first reason for teaching them this, is to empower them.  I want this knowledge to help them make good decisions in life and not to operate under the false assumption that adults have the right to control what they do with their own physical body.  


As a kid, it seemed like adults were "in charge" of so many aspects of our lives, especially when we were under their jurisdiction in school.  While I want my children to respect, follow, and learn from good adults in our lives, I am sending them a very strong message that what my kids actually do with their bodies is 100% under the child's control.  I want them to know this, because the outcome and happiness that they will enjoy in life is very closely linked to how they treat their bodies and how they let others treat them.


Our body is truly our own.  We need to take care of it, to safeguard it, to exercise it, to work with it, to enjoy it, to rest it, to protect it, and to present it again whole and pure before the Lord one day.  Hopefully by teaching my children how to protect their bodies from those who would do them harm, I will be helping them to do this.

--Busy Work--

Fun, Cheap, and Slightly Messy Educational Activities to Do At Home

Safety Kids & The Safe-Side Video


These are two tools that I use to teach my kids about keeping themselves and their bodies safe.  The first clip below is a clip from The Safety Kids tape.  My mom had this when we were younger and we used to listen to it in the car a lot.  I use it now with my kids too.  The kids are really sweet and the dialog gets the point across.  The songs help them to learn useful things like their phone number and that "sometimes you've just gotta yell and scream."


The second is The Safe Side DVD, which my kids love because of it's quirkiness, and I love because it gives great, practical advice and makes a transition from only being wary of "strangers" to being aware that trust is something you only give to people who your parents deem to be a "safe-side adult".  Children should be on guard with basically anyone outside of this very small circle.  So coaches, teachers, and neighbors, who might be nice enough, are only "kind-knows".  You only "kinda" know them, so you must be on guard around them for your own safety.  It also encourages children to listen to their inner alarm system.  If anyone makes them feel uncomfortable or tries to cross a line of safety set by their parents, they are to take charge of the situation, get out, and report it.


These are two very good safety tools that I totally recommend.
The Safe Side company now has online safety videos and lots of other cool stuff to help you educate your children on personal safety.