It’s Child Abuse Prevention Month and it’s important to teach your children about body safety and consent. These picture books can help you explain the subjects with them. For more information on Child Abuse Prevention Month, including resources and hotlines, click here.

My Body Belongs to Me: A Book About Body Safety by Jill Starishevsky 
Without being taught about body boundaries, a child may be too young to understand when abuse is happening–or that it’s wrong. This straightforward, gentle book offers a tool parents, teachers, and counselors can use to help children feel, be, and stay safe. The rhyming story and simple, friendly illustrations provide a way to sensitively share and discuss the topic, guiding young children to understand that their private parts belong to them alone. The overriding message of My Body Belongs to Me is that if someone touches your private parts, tell your mom, your dad, your teacher, or another safe adult 

I Said No!: A Kid’s Guide to Keeping Private Parts Private by Zack King 
Written from a kid’s point of view, I said no!, helps kids set healthy boundaries for their private parts, and describes how to deal with inappropriate behavior by others. 

Your Body Belongs to You by Cornelia Spelman 
Explains what to say and do if someone touches your body when you do not want to be touched, especially when the action involves the touching of private parts. 

No Means No!: Teaching Children About Personal Boundaries, Respect and Consent; empowering Kids by Respecting their Choices and Their Right to Say. :No!” by Jayneen Sanders 
No Means No!’ is a children’s picture book about an empowered little girl who has a very strong and clear voice in all issues, especially those relating to her body and personal boundaries. This book can be read to children from 3 to 9 years. It is a springboard for discussions regarding children’s choices and their rights. The ‘Note to the Reader’ at the beginning of the book and the ‘Discussion Questions’ on the final pages, guide and enhance this essential discussion. It is crucial that our children, from a very young age, are taught to have a clear, strong voice in regards to their rights – especially about their bodies. In this way, they will have the confidence to speak up when they are unhappy or feel uncomfortable in any situation. A strong, confident voice as a young child converts to a strong, confident pre-teen, teenager and adult. With the prevalence today of online and offline bullying and various forms of abuse, such as physical, emotional and sexual abuse; our young people need to learn (from a young age) to always speak up when their rights are not being respected 

Those are MY Private Parts by Diane Hansen 
Uses rhyming and illustrations by a four-year-old to present messages about sexual abuse prevention to children. Specifically mentions individuals in a child’s life who could be sex offenders and the possible use of touching “games” in order to inform and empower children to protect their bodies. 

Consent (for Kids!): Boundaries, Respect, and Being in Charge of You by Rachel Brian 
This is a guide to consent and bodily autonomy, packed with bright and energetic illustrations. Readers will learn about boundaries and how to set them; ways to respect themselves and others; what to do if someone makes them feel uncomfortable or unsafe; and much more. Along the way, they’ll be encouraged to reflect on (and improve!) their own behavior and to practice consent in their daily lives. Whether you’re looking for a consent primer to share with a friend or searching for a way to talk to your child about what it means to be in control of their own body and respect others’, look no further! . 

The Right Touch: a Read Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse by Sandy Kleven 
As a way of teaching her little boy about sexual abuse, a mother tells him the story of a child who was lured into the neighbor’s house to see some non-existent kittens.