Teaching Children to Touch Others Appropriately

Kids are naturally curious about bodies. They are also innately affectionate. Young children tend to be especially tactile and seem to want to touch everything in their path, which is why it is extremely important for parents to teach children to touch others appropriately at a young age. Learning about personal boundaries will help children understand what it means to treat others with respect. It will also help them to build healthy relationships.

  1. Everyone Has A Body

    • Teach children about the human body and and its parts. Read a simple book about the body, such as "Body Parts" by Bev Schumacher. Have your child identify the body parts in the book, on a doll and on her own body. Talk about the different body parts and their functions and answer your child's questions. Tell her that everyone has a body and that everyone has a right to not be touched in ways we don't like or that make us uncomfortable.

    Private Parts

    • Teach your child about his private parts. Name the child's private parts and help them identify their private parts. Explain that others should not touch or play with their private parts. Make it clear that they should not touch or play with other people's private parts because it is wrong. Emphasize that they should never touch another person's private parts even if that person tells them to.

    Good Touching and Bad Touching

    • Train your child to differentiate between good touching and bad touching. Talk about some different types of touches, such as shaking hands, hugging, hand-holding, tickling and hitting. Encourage your child to brainstorm as many kinds of touches as he can. Make a two-column list on a sheet of paper. Label one side "good touches" and the other side "bad touches." Define good touches as appropriate touches that you like. Define bad touches as those that are inappropriate or that you don't like. Tell your child that appropriate means right and inappropriate means wrong. Help your child to place the different touches he has listed in either the good touches or bad touches category.

    Create Rules

    • Work with your child to develop rules for touching others. Tell your child she should only touch people who want to be touched, and she should only touch them in ways that are appropriate. Help her write down a list of ways she should and should not touch other people. Also talk to her about people who are acceptable or unacceptable to touch. For example, it's okay to hug Grandma, but it's not okay to hug a stranger.

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