Respect: consent, boundaries and being in charge of you

For both children and adults, the topic of consent can be confusing. Adults wonder how they can get their child’s consent to brush their hair and children don’t see why other people don’t like play-fighting as much as they do.

Rachel Brian explains the importance of consent, boundaries and respect through simple comic strips, drawn in a way that will be accessible to children as young as seven, but will also appeal to teenage and adult readers. This book will be useful not only for adults who want children to understand that they get to choose what others do to their bodies, but also for parents who come from a ‘huggy’ family and need to explain to their children that others may find that kind of physical contact unpleasant.

While older children can read this book alone, adults are more likely to work through it with younger children, discussing the concepts as they go. Teachers may find this book a convenient and useful basis for PSHE lessons. If we want children to grow up with healthy self-respect as well as appropriate respect for others, books like this are essential.