Body positive book for toddlers!

[WomanBornNotWorn]

Great idea - helping small children

mobile.twitter.com/Transgendertrd/status/1199056010520023040

This looks like a lovely book. I am a woman who has struggled to love her body at times (ED), but would love my DD to grow up feeling positive about hers. Also very helpful for the gender debate, which she will no doubt get exposed to in time .

I am curious why the book isn't for sale in other outlets. It'd be good to have it in bookshops, etc.

FamilyOfAliens

Yes I did answer that.

This book should be clear about what it's addressing. If it's that gender doesn't, or at least shouldn't exist and that boys and girls can wear and do exactly what they want, then keep it at that.

Why try and address issues of gender, race and disability all within the same book and all with the same message?

I honestly dont think that the difficulties experienced by children with disabilities can be addressed or solved just by telling children to love their bodies or that their bodies are just right as they are.

I think that dismisses all of the feelings that children who have disabilities may well experience.

I think each condition or particular disability will come with individual difficulties. Not all disabilities are equal. Not every child with X condition will feel or experience the same things so I cannot see how a book which seeks to address gender, race, sex and disability can possibly hope to do so with just one message - love your body.

Whenever trans gender issues are discussed on here and a poster asks if someone would hold the same views based on race or disability they are told off for co opting these protected characteristics and dragging them into the argument yet this book would appear to be doing just that.

Clearly the main agenda is to address trans gender issues so why bring race and disability into it?

I'd like someone to describe how disability is dealt with in the book. Is it addressed directly or is it just that a child who happens to have a disability is included in a picture? Another poster said it's useful for her to use to teach her able bodied child about including a child with disabilities in their games - I just find that incredibly patronising. Children with disabilities don't exist so that you can teach your able bodied child about inclusion.

The sad fact is that children with disabilities can't always do what able bodied children can do. Their conditions or illness may well limit their choices, they may have adverse effects on them that cause them to be sad or angry or have other negative emotions. Is it helpful to teach children to ignore those emotions by telling them that they should.love the body that they have? For me, as a child and as an adult, what I needed was for people to actually confront those feelings with me. Not to come over all Pollyanna with me.

Thanks for this thread. The people being horrible to the author and illustrator are doing a great advertising job- I've just bought two copies.

Regardless of the trans topic it's a lovely thing to teach young children.

Well, hooves. It's a book that is helping young kids celebrate their bodies, in very simple terms and gentle ways, suitable for very young kids, and it might help kids find acceptance, and be comfortable with their bodies. It's really not anything much more complicated than that.

I'm sorry about your issues, I really don't think this book is worth focussing your anger at. But there you go. Maybe don't buy it.

It's a really good book - positive messages and very gentle. A pleasant change from some of the current gaslighting 'you've been born in the wrong body' crap currently being targeted at young children by certain groups of adults.

hairyxmasturkey

Have you read it?

It's a really good book - positive messages and very gentle. A pleasant change from some of the current gaslighting 'you've been born in the wrong body' crap currently being targeted at young children by certain groups of adults.

Maybe it is a good book for dealing with sex and gender, but why is disability brought into it? How is disability dealt with in a positive way, without dismissing a child's feelings about their body in relation to their disability?

hairyxmasturkey
I've also ordered copies for the little ones in my life. And the illustrations are by Jessica Ahlberg - daughter of the wonderful Allan and Janet Ahlberg.

And the illustrations are by Jessica Ahlberg - daughter of the wonderful Allan and Janet Ahlberg.

I was so excited when I realised that. We had many Ahlberg books when my kids were little. So lovely to now have one illustrated by Jessica!

Clearly the main agenda is to address trans gender issues so why bring race and disability into it?

I'm sorry, do you think that the only children likely to fall victim to the "your body is the wrong sex for your personality, let's butcher it" cult are white with no disabilities? Should all the dozens of illustrations only have depicted white, able-bodied children? Why on earth would you think that?

Is this book suitable for Sea Lions? Asking for a friend.

I've seen lots of posts online with pics of this going 'Hateful!' 'TERFs!' and thinking 'God, you haven't seen the inside of it any more than I have!'

I can't give an opinion of it as I haven't seen the contents, though I am pretty sure there is nothing in it that is hateful, anti-trans etc in it.

I'm sorry, do you think that the only children likely to fall victim to the "your body is the wrong sex for your personality, let's butcher it" cult are white with no disabilities? Should all the dozens of illustrations only have depicted white, able-bodied children? Why on earth would you think that?

Whatever gave you that idea? Does the book only deal with issue of sex/gender then and includes pictures of children, some of whom aren't white, some of whom aren't able bodied to show that boys and girls come in all shapes and sizes and with different backgrounds but are all still either male or female? Or is it dealing with disability and race as examples of other areas where children are different but should still love their bodies?

That's the view I've got from comments on here - that children with disabilities are encouraged to accept and love their bodies based on the disability, not their sex. Are you saying that isn't the case, that the book is just about sex and gender? If so, then that's completely different.

My beef is that I don't think we should glibly be telling children with disabilities that they should love their bodies without trying to understand the complex emotions that living with disability can bring.

If there's a copy in the library I'll have a look. Why should I pay money for a book that I suspect I won't agree with?

I doubt public libraries would be keen to add to transgender trend's coffers.

I can't give an opinion of it as I haven't seen the contents, though I am pretty sure there is nothing in it that is hateful, anti-trans etc in it.

Without reading it how can you be sure?

I have a few copies of this and it is a gorgeous book. No messages in it that any good Mum would not want to share with their child - in fact it only teaches their child to love their body! I gave a copy to my teen child to give to her sister, we read it together and the one phrase that struck out for her was "sometimes we're gentle, sometimes we're tough. Yes, EVERY body can do all this stuff."
Rachel and Jessica I hope this get to you but your book really resonated with my teenager daughter 💐

Give over, Hooves.

You don't like the book you haven't read. OK. Why don't you go and tell the local school library or the local library not to buy this book you don't like that you haven't read, and stop going on about it here ? You could even continue to not read the book, not like the book, and tell your friends you don't like the book you haven't read. If you have a Twitter a/c or other social media, you can post about the book you haven't read that you don't like.

It's a free bloody world, and people can like or dislike any book at all! But going on and on and on, when people (like me) have spent some considerable time listening to you and genuinely trying to answer your trauma/health related question - well, it's just taking the piss, isn't it ?

We get it. You don't like the book. OK. Nobody said you had to like it, read it, promote it. It's not the 'danger' to children you've decided on the evidence of nothing that it is, so just chalk it up to 'I don't like books by T**Fs' and move on.

I will say, that everytime someone, in future, objects to a book they haven't read, I'm going to order it for the local bookshop. Every single time.

Why would a toddler need to be 'body positive

Do you have a toddler?

Young children are over-exposed to adult fears, phobias and hang-ups about the body: about how they are supposed to look; about what it means to be a boy or a girl - and all that goes with that. My four year old granddaughter is already talking about 'fat tummies'...and has already absorbed Disney type imagery about how a 'princess' is supposed to move and hold herself.

Why would a toddler need to be 'body positive

You seem fond of posing questions, but not on providing responses or answers?

My body will never heal, it will only get worse. The medications cause other problems, cause side effects that necessitate more treatment, put me at risk of life threatening infection etc

I have genuine empathy and sympathy for your situation - but that doesn't take away from the point and purpose of the book.

I am sorry but I don't understand. Its published by a group who deal with trans issues and yet apparently the book is nothing to do with trans issues so, no, I don't understand. If you do, why can't you explain it

Yes, the book provides a positive, healthy, natural counter narrative to the damaging trans ideology that is being pushed on our children. And?

Just because this book is giving an opposing view to other books it doesn't make it right, in my opinion

Do you have children yourself? If so, what sorts of stories and narratives do you read with them? This, in my view, is a perfectly natural and straightforward positive narrative for toddlers - of the sort that most parents/grandparents seek out and like.

This book should be clear about what it's addressing. If it's that gender doesn't, or at least shouldn't exist and that boys and girls can wear and do exactly what they want, then keep it at that

You clearly don't have much experience with children's books or literature is all I can say.

Being told that your body is just right as it is whilst in hospital having surgeries to change your body - that's a bit if a head fuck isn't it? If my body was just right as it was why did I need big surgeries to change it

This is clearly not the book for you or your daughter. Nobody is forcing it on anyone, or on you. There is a whole world of books out there.......

I do kind of understand where hooves is coming from. I'm a GC feminist who has bought this book, but I'm also the mother of children with disabilities.
The feelings of children with disabilities towards their bodies are very complex. Their bodies are different and special but also cause them pain and let them down.
No one is saying that children with disabilities shouldn't be included in this book but as I said it's complex.