I’m Bored — 14 Days of Quarantine Activities for Kids

Day 5: Our bodies, Our Rules: Awareness, Agency, and Consent

One of the things our young people are learning during the pandemic is about personal space, gauging other people’s comfort with proximity, and protecting one another with mask wearing and proper hygiene.

Creating opportunity for body awareness, agency over what happens to our bodies, and ongoing consent can and should happen all the time but is particularly accessible when we’re home with our families.

Photo by Hisu Lee Unsplash

Body Tracing

You’ll need a big cardboard box you can unfold, a giant roll of paper, or some chalk and a safe spot to lie on the cement or asphalt. With permission, have one person lie on the paper, cardboard, or ground and the other person trace the outline of her/their/his body. After the outline is complete you can chalk in more details, glue on fabric and yarn, or fill in with crayons, markers, or paint.

Red light, Yellow Light, Green Light Tickle

This is a game about consent and having agency over one’s body. One person is the tickler and the other person is the one being tickled. The person being tickled is in charge of when and how much and in what way they are tickled. Red light means stop. Yellow light means slow down and less hard. Green light means keep on tickling. The person who is the tickler is a responsive listener who asks questions like Is it still a green light? if they have not heard from the person. Would you light me to change how I’m tickling you? after the person being tickled says, “Red light.” This game develops trust in communication.

Wrestle

I am a fan of good old fashioned rough housing when everyone involved is in agreement. Find a safe spot to wrestle free of lamps and other breakable things that might knock over. This can be done outside in a safe space away from people and traffic. Participants agree upon ground rules like no tickling, no choke holds, and how many seconds you have to hold the other down before winning a round. Create a safe word. When that word is said during play, the action stops.

Books

C is for Consent is an elementary primer on the concept of consent

It Feels Good to Be Yourself creates inclusion for different bodies and gender identities

Human Body: Activity Book for Kids is full of interesting activities for curious minds

Let’s Talk About Body Boundaries, Consent & Respect offers skills for life

Through daily activities there are opportunities to bring in body awareness with eating, exercise, emotions, and sleep. While at home it can be difficult to witness our kids struggling with a task, but before stepping in to do it for them, you can acknowledge what they are doing and let them know you support them. Even amongst siblings and other family members, we don’t own control over one another’s bodies. Conversations about consent and boundaries start here.