I LOVE this idea. My sister-in-law and her friends have started teaching their children about their physical autonomy at a very young age, and I think it’s wonderful.
Shortly after my eldest niece, Marta, started to speak in full sentences, my sister-in-law made up a “game” with her. She’d ask her in a big, silly voice, “Marta, who’s in charge of your body?” and Marta would screech in giggles, “ME!!!!! I AM IN CHARGE OF MY BODY!!!!!!” Sometimes the ask and refrain change a little to “Who’s the Boss of your body?” and it never fails to crack Marta up, even now when she’s approaching four.
This is a fantastic, positive, esteem-building approach that is a great pre-cursor to the “don’t take candy from strangers” talk we all unfortunately have to have at one point of other with our little ones. I love the idea of instilling a pride and sense of “ownership” about a child’s body, an empowerment model, if you will, prior to exposing them to the understanding that not all people in the world are nice and worthy of trust.
