The theme for National Child Protection Week 2025 was: 'Every conversation matters, shifting conversation to action.
Educate2Empower lead author Jayneen Sanders joined a wonderful group of kids at the Sydney Children's Hospital for a reading of 'My Body! What I Say Goes!' and donated some social & emotional intelligence picture books. It was a fantastic session of storytelling, learning, and empowerment.
How books help turn conversation to action:
Create the Script:Meaningful conversations require the right words. Our books, like ‘My Body! What I Say Goes!’, provide the clear, age-appropriate, and positive language that allows adults to start the conversation and children to understand and participate in it.
Build Skills, Not Just Awareness: Awareness is passive; skills are active. Body Safety books and activities facilitate skill-building in consent, identifying trusted adults, and using a strong voice. This provides children with clear, easy to achieve directions on how to set and enforce their personal boundaries and also how to reach out for help.
Empowerment: A child's own sense of confidence and autonomy is the best defence against abuse. Teaching and reinforcing bodily autonomy through concrete terms such as "My Body! What I Say Goes!", provides children with a practical and clear understanding of the difficult concept of consent and empowerment.
This is the work is at the core of Educate2Empower's founding principles. We are committed to providing the books and resources that communities, schools, and families need to move beyond just talking and start actively building a safer world for children.
