The naturally curious nature of children will eventually lead them to want to know more about their bodies. However, body-related conversations can be awkward and challenging for parents.

Educating your child on their body is essential for them to have a healthy, long-term relationship with themselves, understand how to best care for their body, and lead a healthy lifestyle. As a parent, it’s crucial to do so in an age-appropriate way. That will help your child learn what they need to know and set them up to successfully learn even more about their body in the future.

Determine What Your Child Should Know

The first step to teaching your kid about their body is determining what they should know at their age. If you don’t know what your child should know, you may teach them things too early or too late, either of which can impact their care and relationship with their body.

Do thorough research on what your children should know about their bodies at their ages. For example, if you have a boy aged 11-16 or a girl aged 8-13, start discussing puberty with them so they understand the physical and hormonal changes they’ll likely endure and how to navigate them. When you know what’s appropriate to teach your children at their ages, you can feed them the information they need about their bodies at the right times in their lives.

Nurture Trust-Filled Relationships

The last thing you want is for your child to feel like they can’t come to you with questions about their body or anything for that matter. Trying to navigate their bodily changes on their own will likely overwhelm or even frighten your child.

You can ensure this doesn’t happen by nurturing trust-filled relationships with your kid. Start with regular open and honest conversations with them about life. Be sure to listen more than you talk so that your children feel heard and understood. They’ll become more comfortable opening up to you. This will make them more likely to bring up any questions or concerns about their body to you in the future.

Start the Conversations

Even with a trust-filled relationship with your child, they may not initiate conversations about their body often, if they do at all. To ensure you’re able to have these conversations with your kid, you’ll have to get comfortable starting them yourself.

Plan out what you will discuss with your child and at what time. Keep in mind that there will still be impromptu lessons that arise from time to time, so try to be ready for everything. Even if you planned to talk about a certain topic, your child may ask questions related to something else instead. Be receptive to these shifts if they occur and don’t shut your child down. Otherwise, they may be less willing to have similar conversations later on.

Be Diligent About Conversations Surrounding Genitals

Out of discomfort, some parents postpone teaching their children about genitals and sexuality as long as possible. But it’s much better to be upfront about these conversations and lessons so that your children understand concepts like:

• Consent;
• How babies are made;
• Proper genital hygiene;
• The basics of healthy genitals;
• Appropriate and inappropriate touching.

A great example is teaching girls about their vaginas. There are many myths about vaginas — including how they should look, smell, and function — that are important to debunk for your child. These myths can influence how your child understands and feels about their own body and ultimately impact their physical and mental health negatively.

Additionally, don’t feel like you need to use code names like “private part” to reference a vagina or penis. It’s better to use the proper name so that your kids understand there’s no shame in having or talking about genitals openly and honestly.

Instill Healthy Habits in Your Children

A vital lesson in your child’s education is how to properly fuel and care for their body. It’s crucial to have these conversations early on so your child doesn’t develop an unhealthy relationship with food or exercise as they get older — and can put these lessons into practice in the meantime.

Focus on teaching your children about good nutrition and how eating a balanced diet will help them grow big and strong. Share with them how eating too much sugar can lead to health issues like cavities, obesity, and diabetes. Make meals full of fruits and veggies to show them how tasty healthy food can be. Try not to frame foods as either good or bad; instead, help them understand how different foods can impact their bodies.

It’s also essential to implement exercise in their daily routine. Whether toddlers, elementary-age, or teens, kids need physical activity to build strong bones and muscles, help them maintain an appropriate weight, and improve their cognitive performance. Nature walks, sports, and kid-friendly workouts are great to start with.

Build Body Image and Confidence

How your children feel about themselves and their bodies is critical for healthy development.  Kids form opinions about their bodies early on, with body image issues arising as early as 3 years old.

Make it a point to help your children build their body image and boost their confidence. Don’t talk negatively about the way they look, dress, and so forth. Never compare them to others and help them do the same. Encourage your children to express their individualism.

And finally, remind them of how wonderful they are as a human, regardless of how they look. This is especially important when they’re feeling doubtful about their bodies, insecure about how they look, or hear a hurtful comment from a friend, family member, or stranger.

Conclusion

Your children have a right to know the truth about their bodies and how to care for them appropriately. Don’t strip them of this right by putting off conversations, refusing to answer questions, or creating awkwardness around body-related discussions.

Instead, nurture trust-filled relationships with your children so that it’s easier to educate them about their bodies in an age-appropriate manner. Here is a link to books about the same.