Open Discussion Forum

  • 1.  Appropriate Touch

    Posted 02-25-2021 11:18 AM
    Share your thoughts please: What do you teach in 3/4/5year olds in terms of areas of appropriate touch and what students should do if touched in an inappropriate area?

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    Sara Larsen

    Concordia MO
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  • 2.  RE: Appropriate Touch

    Posted 02-26-2021 03:23 AM
    Appropriate touch can be healthy if it's done in the matter that promotes comfort and encouragement. Inappropriate touch makes a person feels uncomfortable and can lead to abuse. Personal safety and inappropriate touch should be taught at an early age. It will help teach students what is safe and what is not safe and let them become aware when they are being violated

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    Lee Garner
    Teacher/Tutor
    Garner Tutoring Service
    Calumet City IL
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  • 3.  RE: Appropriate Touch

    Posted 02-27-2021 07:12 AM
    I used a version of Peaceful Touch for sensory integration games. Peaceful touch is a Scandinavian approach to appropriate touch in the classroom (that is inspired by therapeutic massage). I never taught massage with children, but I applied the concept of both asking for consent and choosing whether or not to give it. One of the games we played in a highly structured way was Sensory Sandwiches. This is not direct touch it has more to do with practicing the steps of consent and working up to drawing a picture on someone's back. I would facilitate. We had a basket of soft materials (pillows, towels, small blankets, etc.) that we would pretend were sandwich ingredients. One child would lie on a big pillow (often the first volunteer was a sensory seeker which was perfect for them to get regulated to stay for someone else's turn). We ask, "what would you like on your sandwich?" They say an ingredient and I ask another child to choose an item from the basket to represent that ingredient and ask them to gently place it on the child who is lying down. After placing I say, "now we ask them how it feels? Is it ok?" If it's a child who is not a sensory seeker I add, "they might say yes and they might say no." Just to emphasize that it's the lying down child's decision. The lying down child determines with their sandwich is complete (Or ingredients run out) and we put another pillow on top as the other slice of bread. Then we ask, "would you like me to press the bread?" (This means slide your hands over the top pillow at the pressure that the child likes). If they say no, that's the end of the game. If they say yes, you can ask, "how is this pressure? Too heavy? Too light? Or just right?" And you respond accordingly with pressure. It's your discretion whether to invite a child to do this part. If I had kids who were highly regulated I would invite them to ask the questions and apply the right amount of pressure. If I had someone who was working really hard to regulate I might do it with them or ask them just to watch.
    Separate from Peaceful touch there are programs for teaching kids how to recognize an "uh-oh" feeling associated with inappropriate touch, but I don't know the names of them off the top of my head.

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    Lauren Stauble
    Consultant/Faculty/ECE Admin
    Boston, MA
    feelthinkconnect.com
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  • 4.  RE: Appropriate Touch

    Posted 02-27-2021 08:40 AM
    I used to:
    • teach the bathing suit rule to define areas that are private parts - and every person is in charge of their own body
    • emphasize that safe touch feels welcome like a hug while unsafe touch hurts or feels unwelcome/uncomfortable
    • use 'doctor's' words to name body parts to normalize the correct names
    • talk about healthy vs unhealthy secrets - and what trusted adults they can do to for help
    I like these two sources for more professional guidance on both Teaching Children About Positive Touch and How to Talk to Young Children About Body Safety
    Since families have a wide range of comfort/discomfort with this topic, always communicate with them in advance of having these conversations with the class and with the support and guidance of your program's leadership team.

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    Erin Murray
    Moorestown NJ
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