A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies - God Made All of Me

LOVE that there is a resource like this for parents and kids. I didn't think the content was in any way inappropriate. I read it to my 5 year old boy and it didn't affect him in a negative way at all.

Very worth your time. We read this with our children last night and plan on reading it many more times. Such an easy way to talk about protecting their bodies. Great illustrations and great text. We will be buying more copies to share with our friends who have younger children.

I never write reviews...but I just wanted to offer thoughts on this book. It is extremely clear and age appropriate. Im really grateful for the authors who put all this great language into one place making it easy for this to become part of every day conversation with our kids. Sometimes you just need the words to say to get you started and they have done that! Thank you!

Perfect book for teaching your kids what is OK when it comes to their bodies. Love the parenting tips and discussion. This book really helped to get some really good conversation started with our five year old.

I just got this book yesterday and immediately read it to my 6 year old daughter. We had a conversation that should have happened already but didn't because I didn't know how to have it. I'm so thankful for this book that plainly addresses the issues of sexual abuse in a way that my 6 year old could understand and not be frightened. She felt empowered by this little book. I cannot recommend it more highly to parents. Please get this book and start a conversation with your kids that could change everything.

Wish I would have listened to the negative comments. I really wanted to like this book. The story line is choppy and when read aloud sounds like lecturing. The introductory page for parents gives scary statistics... so every time you open the book, it puts you in a mindset of fear rather than lovingly educating your child. I read A LOT of children's books and this one didn't make the grade.

One of the greatest responsibilities of parents to their children is to teach them about God’s design for their bodies and why they should and how to protect their bodies. Conversely, one of the greatest failures of parents is when they do not teach their children God’s design for their bodies and that they should and how to protect it. Parents need to love their children enough to talk to them about their bodies and sex and how to protect themselves against others who might try to violate those things. Children need to be taught how to value themselves as made in God’s image. This includes the parts of their bodies that can be the most vulnerable – their private parts.

We live in a sex saturated world in which people do not respect their bodies. One cannot turn on the t.v., the internet, or walk around in a mall without being bombarded with implicit, and often times overt, messages of sexuality. The sexual revolution may be over as a movement but its effects linger on in every aspect of our culture. Sexual messages are no longer hiding in the shadows but are knocking on the door of our eyes every day. Parents have to be vigilant in protecting their children from what they see in the world and equip them to protect themselves when they are not around while playing with friends and family.

While there are many parents that want to talk to their younger children about their bodies, often times they feel ill prepared and do not know where to start. For many of them they might have never been prepared by their parents. They don’t want to do the same to their kids but they need the tools to take the first step with their kids.

The wait is over. Justin & Lindsey Holcomb, authors of the widely successful and helpful book Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault, have applied their vast knowledge and counseling experience to equipping parents to be able to effectively talk to their young children about their bodies. Their new book, God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies, is a powerful and timely tool for parents as they help protect their children from sexual assault. Rid of My Disgrace was written to help victims of sexual assault heal from those experiences. God Made All of Me is written to help children protect themselves so they do not one day need a book like Rid of My Disgrace.

There are two main things that this book equips parents to teach their kids about. The first is that God made ALL of them and that ALL of them that God made is good. Too often, even with the best of intentions, when parents try to teach their kids about their bodies and sex, they make children feel dirty about their bodies (especially girls). But our bodies are not dirty – even our private parts. Kids need to know that God has a good created purpose for their private parts.

This leads to the second thing the Holcomb’s want to teach kids about their bodies, which is that since there is a good creative purpose for their private parts, they need to protect them from others. Some parts are for sharing, like a hand for a high five, but others are not. The best way to help kids protect themselves is to equip and empower them with age appropriate knowledge about their bodies. The authors rightly push for patents to use anatomically correct and specific language with young children about their private parts.

It might be uncomfortable at first, but use proper names for body parts. Children need to know the proper names for their genitals. This knowledge gives children correct language for understanding their bodies, for asking questions that need to be asked, and for telling about any behavior that could lead to sexual abuse. (29)

God Made All of Me is a book that ALL parents with young children need to have and use. This book will equip parents to equip their young children with valuable, and life saving knowledge, that they need to properly understand their bodies and how to protect them. At younger and younger ages, children are being exposed to porn and sexual abuse. Children need to know how to avoid these situations for themselves and others. This book will help parents have the hard conversations that need to be had in every family. Sex is a good gift from God. Children need a God-centered understanding of those parts of their bodies that need to be protected and hidden from others now, so they can properly share them with their spouse one day.

To learn more about this great resource check out the web site www.godmadeallofme.com.

I received this book for free from New Growth Press for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Fabulous book, content exactly what I was hoping for, but it came damaged -either heat or water, I can't tell. If I am paying full price for a *new* book, it shouldn't be coming damaged! Dissapointed and will be returning. Photos of damage.

If you are like most parents, you probably recognize how important it is to educate and protect your children from sexual predators. However, without guidance, you may be unsure of the best way to broach this topic with really young children.

That’s where Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb come in.

This couple recently wrote God Made All Of Me – A Book To Help Children Protect Their Bodies. This educational resource is designed to help parents with 2 to 8 year olds educate their children about their bodies in a way that they can easily understand.

The overall message of the book emphasizes that God created their bodies good, that some body parts are private, and that there are ways for them to differentiate between safe and inappropriate behavior.

The book can be divided into three parts.

* The book opens with a letter to the parent or caregiver that provides a statistical basis for the book.

* The middle section is the “story” part of the book – but it’s really more of an interactive teaching tool for parents to share with their children than a traditional children’s story. The illustrations by Trish Mahoney are beautifully rendered and provide the perfect accompaniment to this portion of the book.

*The final section of the book, 9 Ways To Protect Your Children From Sexual Abuse, contains helpful tips for parents.

Although God Made All Of Me is presented as a children’s book, the strength of this book lies in the guidance that the authors provide to parents on how to broach this topic with their children (part three of the book). The tips in the final section of the book are quite helpful.

However, in the children’s portion of the book, the message is not as strong or as clear-cut as it should be. For instance, in the beginning of this section, the message that “When God made people he called it very good” overlooks the fact that we live in a fallen world and not everyone has our child’s best interest at heart.

Further in the book, the identification of certain adults as trustworthy – daddy, teacher, doctor – does not take into account that sometimes, the people closest to our children take advantage of their trust, and we as parents need to prepare them for that possibility.

God Made All Of Me is an important book – we definitely need more resources like this within the Christian community.

However, it’s a book that should be read and used with discernment so that you can adapt it to your family’s needs, particularly based on the age of your child.

I rate this book 3 ½ stars.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. However, the opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Talking to little ones about their bodies can be an incredibly daunting task for parents. Most parents have no idea where to begin, what terminology to use, or at what age to even begin discussing it. Unfortunately, to keep our children safe from sexual predators, it is absolutely necessary to do the uncomfortable thing, and talk to children about it at their level. Justin S. Holcomb has made this uncomfortable talk so much easier with his brand new book, "God made all of Me: A book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies."

The beginning of the book starts with an introduction to parents, explaining why he decided to write this book. Did you know that one in four women and one in six men have been or will be assaulted at some point in their lives? 15% of those are under the age of 12, and 29% are between the ages of 12 and 17. Girls between the ages of 16 and 19 are FOUR times more likely than the general population to be victims of general assault.

Education is the best defense in protecting little ones from sexual predators! How will a child know what is appropriate or inappropriate if we as their parents, fail to speak with them about it?

The first page in the story is Genesis 1:31 in bright bold colors... "God saw everything He had made. And it was very good." The next page is a picture of a mom and dad sitting in the living room with their two children talking about how God is the One who created each of them. The story proceeds as Dad asks the children other questions such as "What else did God make?" and then they discuss the different body parts God created and that there are certain parts that are not for sharing. We can share a hug if we want, but we do not HAVE to if we don't want to. And that is okay. We don't even have to offer a high five if we don't want to, because our bodies are our own and no one else's.

Mom goes on to explain that if someone doesn't listen when you tell them no, you must go tell someone right away. You can tell your parents, a doctor, a teacher or anyone else who can help you. She then explains that private parts are the parts covered up by our underwear or bathing suits. (They use the proper names for body parts here.) Mom explains that sometimes kids need help in the tub, or a doctor needs to check your parts at a doctor visit, and that's just parents and doctors trying to keep kids healthy. There is also a special side note here that tells children that if they aren't sure what is a safe and healthy touch they can always ask, because touches are never secret! The rest of the book pretty much reiterates these important truths and it concludes with 9 ways to help protect your child from a sexual predator.

I loved this book! It seems to be geared towards children between the ages of 3 and 8, which seems like the perfect age to broach this subject. I know some parents may scoff at the idea of teaching their children the proper names of body parts, but I think it's important to remember that it may be difficult for a child to come to an adult regarding inappropriate touch if they do not not the proper names.

The illustrations were bright and colorful and didn't show any pictures that might be embarrassing to a child. Everything is covered up by an undershirt or underpants. This book is very tastefully done! I would HIGHLY recommend it to all parents. I rate it as 5 stars!

I received this book for free from Litfuse in exchange for my honest unbiased opinion.

About the Author:

Justin Holcomb, PhD, is an Episcopal priest and professor of theology and Christian thought at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Reformed Theological Seminary. He is the author ofOn the Grace of God, Know the Heretics, and Know the Creeds and Councils, as well as the coauthor of Is It My Fault? and Rid of My Disgrace. He also serves on the boards for REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade) and GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments).
Lindsey Holcomb, MPH, counsels victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and is the cofounder of REST (Real Escape from the Sex Trade). Lindsey has provided crisis intervention to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence and conducted a variety of training seminars to service providers. She is also the coauthor of Is It My Fault? and Rid of My Disgrace.

The month of April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Child Abuse Prevention Month. It is both necessary to shine a light to expose the sexual assault that goes on around us and to be proactive in protecting children from such abuse. Yet, much of the awareness and preventative steps suggested are directed toward informing adults. A genuine question needs to be asked, "If children are the target of some of this assault and abuse, then wouldn't it make sense to inform and equip them on the matter?" Of course, it is important to be age-appropriate with the details. Still, because of the current climate of our culture, parents must begin to brace themselves for conversations with their children on these tough topics. To come alongside and help parents do that, Justin S. Holcomb and Lindsey A. Holcomb have written a unique children's book, God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies.

Writing as a child sexual abuse victim and a board member of GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in Christian Environments), Justin Holcomb's goal is to place a tool in parent's and caregiver's hands. This tool lays down the foundational biblical truth to children that God has made their bodies. Building on that, the book discusses an understanding of private body parts and touches that are appropriate and inappropriate (Parents, please note that the book does use formal terms for private body parts). The book teaches children private parts are not for sharing but if something does happen, what occurred between them and the adult is not meant to be kept a secret. They are also warned about those who may try to trick them into being alone with them. Children are instructed to say, "No!" and to ask for help immediately.

God Made All of Me takes a sensitive subject and provides helpful content in a conversational style. Justin and Lindsey Holcomb present this important information by sharing a story of a talk between parents and their two children, Kayla and David. The illustrations by Trish Mahoney further contribute to the engaging manner of the book. Serving as bookends of the story, the book opens up with a letter to parents or caregivers of children who will read the book or who will hear the book read. The book closes with a section on "9 Ways to Protect Your Children from Sexual Abuse". While written for 2-to-8 year olds, parents may want to tailor some of the language, namely of private body part terms, for those who are on the younger side of the spectrum. In the end, Justin Holcomb and Lindsey Holcomb provide parents as well as pastors, educators, Sunday School teachers, and children's ministry directors with a tool for protecting children with truth from God's Word. If you are a parent or caregiver of a young child, this book is a must read and a needed conversation starter!