personal space camp

Good morning, boys and girls!

This morning's lesson is about personal space. I know, I know --you thought it was going to be on a rocket ship, but it's not that kind of personal space camp.

Personal space is one's body and the immediate space around it. Needs for personal space change from situation to situation, and they may differ from culture to culture. With a stranger, there needs to be more distance; with family and friends, less distance, etc.

Why?

Autonomy.

Autonomy is the idea that each individual is separate. I can't feel what you feel, I don't know what you know, I may like Brussels sprouts and you don't, and so on. Autonomy means you don't have to eat Brussels sprouts if you don't want to. Personal space is one form of autonomy --I am not you or yours, and you are not me or mine. We each have our own space, and physical contact needs to be consensual or it is perceived as an aggression against our autonomy. Those were big words, I know --it just means you don't have to eat Brussels sprouts or get grabbed by anyone if you don't want to.

Well, hello, what's this? A handout from a child's physical exam? What is this doing here? Hmm. Let me read it. Won't be a second ...

"Discuss personal boundaries and acceptable versus inappropriate touch. Let your child know that no one should ask to see/touch their private parts, and no adult should ask for help with their private parts."

Just a little more. You don't mind, do you? Just a moment ...

"If your child is being bullied, be available to listen and support them. Do not blame them. Explain the difference between protecting oneself/getting help and retaliating. Ask your child what they need to feel safe, and talk to the teacher/principal for further support. Let you child know it is okay to say "no" (and explain why) if a friend or bully asks them to do something harmful or scary."

So, boys and girls, if someone touches you without your permission, unless it is to keep you safe, it is wrong. You have permission to say "no". If that person does not accept your "no", they do not accept that you are a person and as such allowed to have autonomy. Therefore, since they do not accept your autonomy, you can feel free not to accept theirs and kick them wherever will hurt most --their autonomous regions! Only to regain your personal space and autonomy, of course.

In all seriousness, we teach this (with the exception of that last part about kicking ...) to children. Surely we can understand something a 7-year old can get? It's not rocket science.