Mom and child share a vibey song about 'boundaries'
This is a fun way to teach kids about boundaries and personal space.
It might seem like another challenge to add to the parenting list, but teaching our kids about maintaining healthy boundaries and respecting personal space is vital to their development.
In addition to the safety aspect, it helps promote healthy relationships and emotional intelligence, prevents bullying, and even supports mental health.
The safety aspect helps by teaching children about personal space, encouraging them to say 'no' to unwanted touch or physical interactions. It also helps them speak up about maintaining a healthy distance from people who crowd their personal space when they are unwell, for instance, 'social distancing'.
A single mother from Kenya, Tatiana, shared a beautiful song about boundaries that her daughter learnt at school.
In an Instagram she wrote, "Teaching our children about boundaries is one of the most important gifts we can give them. Our kids should absolutely not be forced to hug, kiss, or show affection to anyone they don’t want to - whether that’s a family member or not. I know in our Kenyan culture this can sometimes be seen as rude, but our children’s safety and comfort will always be more important than someone’s feelings. That’s their issue to work through, not our children’s burden to bear."
Tatiana hit the nail on the head with this one. This cultural tradition of considering it rude to kiss or hug an elder or family member not only exists in Kenyan culture but also in many other cultures.
As a parent trying to foster a healthy environment for your kids, breaking away from these orthodox ways of confirming is essential. We can do this by teaching our kids that you can be respectful without feeding into other people's ideas of what respect means.
Listen and learn the song with your kids, check it out below, courtesy of Instagram.
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Image Courtesy of iStock