The coloring book is made by a nonprofit that aims to create resources for parents and educators to start conversations on sex-ed.
Sex education should be an essential part of growing up and a key building block for any progressive society. Sex education in kids has become a topic of political point scoring over the past two years, but it has also reminded us why sex education should be an integral part of the curriculum for kids from a young age. Many parents are often confused about how to deal with teaching their children to understand their bodies, from naming their body parts to teaching them bodily autonomy, consent and more. A nonprofit sex education organization Amaze is helping parents and teachers tackle the issue and make it easily accessible and age-appropriate. Amaze has released a new coloring book that can help preschoolers and kindergarteners understand their bodies while also serving as perfect conversation starters.
The book is free and easy to download and print for those interested in helping kids understand basic concepts with cute drawings and simple lessons. Amaze aims at helping kids understand puberty, reproduction, relationships, sex, and sexuality through various resources on their website. Every parent and untrained educator can learn to help the next generation become sexually healthy adults with the help of these resources. The freely available nine-page coloring book starts out with basic lessons that help kids understand the correct names of body parts and what separates the sexes.
The second page teaches consent and bodily autonomy and highlights how everyone has their own way of displaying affection and it is important not to enforce it on others. The sketches show two people hugging one another as a way of greeting one another, which two people are seen high-fiving and another simply waving as a way of acknowledging each other. This clearly spells out that everyone is entitled to do whatever they are comfortable with. One of the people in the sketch can be seen wearing a hijab and even small details like that go a long way in helping kids wearing a hijab feel more accepted and those who don't wear them accept those that do as well.
Another page helps break stereotypes by showing a girl kicking a soccer ball while a boy practices ballet. "We can play whatever we want! Basketball, ballet, swimming, baseball, and everything else!" reads the writing on the page. The drawings on each page helps send the message of diversity and acceptance and it can make a world of a difference as they grow up. One of them shows a kid being raised by two moms with the message, "Our families are just as different as we are." Another shows a kid playing with two dads and the message reading, "Some of us have mommies or daddies or both." One page also explains humans giving birth and how they give birth.
Amaze has a lot more content on its website, including many videos that can help educators and parents help guide their children to understand sex, sexuality, puberty, personal safety, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and more. A healthy understanding of these concepts can also help them stay safe and accurately report sexually inappropriate acts. The videos are a great interactive way to help kids learn. You can download the coloring book for free here or even choose specific pages to help your kid with sex education.