Theology of the Body and Elementry school aged kids

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I have read quite a bit on TOB and want to start conveying this message to my 5 year old. I have started by letting her know she is made in the image of God and so is everyone else. And no one is meant to be an object of use.

I also know that Christopher West has a young kid or two. What does he do?

Anyway I see books all the time for teens but honestly waiting until they are teens is to long. Are there books geared to younger kids. I have thought of my sefl taking the PJPII weekly audiences and writing it in a way a child would understand it.
 
I don’t know of any programs but I will share with you things my mom did that I genuinly believe has kept me a virin until my 40s (I ma not married)

Whenever I hear a ‘slang term on the street’ that refered to a private and said it in front of my mom, she took me in private and told me that God gave me every sinlge last part of my body and it is all good. Some parts are more private than others and it was wrong to use those slang words. She never yelled at me. She always had a lovgin concerned look in her eye.

When I was about 8 and asked for my privacy she praised me and agreed to never enter the room again when I was naked. Unlike my peers whose parents mocked them and told them they had nothing to hide.

And lastly, a lot of day cares and summer camps make the young children change it front of each other. BIG NO NO. Make sure any day care your daughter is in allows for private changing rooms for each gender. It is then we get them in the habit of knowing to keep clothes on in front of members of the opposite sex

CM
 
beth40n2 said:
I teach TOB to teens, usually 8th and 9th graders. I seem to be catching them before they start dating. There is much in that curriculum that is appropriate for children, but I have not seen any children’s curriculum. You might want to contact TOB themsleves. Here is the link.

theologyofthebody.net/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=57
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There is no “TOB themselves”. TOB is a collection of audiences by JPII

This particular link you gave is to an international alliance.

Christopher West is affiliated with tobinstitute.org
 
Odell said:
I have read quite a bit on TOB and want to start conveying this message to my 5 year old. I have started by letting her know she is made in the image of God and so is everyone else. And no one is meant to be an object of use.

I also know that Christopher West has a young kid or two. What does he do?

Anyway I see books all the time for teens but honestly waiting until they are teens is to long. Are there books geared to younger kids. I have thought of my sefl taking the PJPII weekly audiences and writing it in a way a child would understand it.
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Do not attempt to teach your young child ToB or somehow ‘translate’ JPII’s talks to discuss with your child. Children have a natural period of innocence, the latency period, and you should not violate that with anything to do with sexuality.

I suggest you read the Vatican document The Truth And Meaning of Human Sexuality.
 
1ke said:
Do not attempt to teach your young child ToB or somehow ‘translate’ JPII’s talks to discuss with your child. Children have a natural period of innocence, the latency period, and you should not violate that with anything to do with sexuality.

I suggest you read the Vatican document The Truth And Meaning of Human Sexuality.
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1ke,

while I agree with in the principle of what you are saying (children and innocence), I disagree with other parts.

First of all, we are all sexual beings by the very nature of being male or female. This does not mean talking about genital relations, but just by being a girl or boy in our identity, we get ingrained with some very important things from our mothers and fathers in that relationship… Fathers delighting in their daughters beauty, giving a sense of adventure to their sons.

2nd, TOB covers a vast amount of scripture and information. It has the reputation of being something that explains the marital sexual relationship, as it does that very well, however, there are many other things covered in there that is indeed appropriate for children.

For Example:

– Grasping at the gift vs. open reception
-Genesis…that God created us good.
-our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and are good
– to not allow someone to use us or others as objects
– the body is beautiful and can be betrayed in high art that way, but it is bad when it is portrayed as an object (Christopher has sistine chapel art in his home)

Just a small example of what children can learn about TOB.
 
I think it’s important to note that the TOB doesn’t stand apart from Catholic teaching in general. If you teach your child about the dignity of human life, the beauty of all creation, the mystery and goodness of the body, how we are to treat others with respect and love, and how we are created male and female, you will prepare them to understand the Church’s (and John Paul’s) teaching on sexuality (the theology of the body) when they are ready.

Until then, I tend to agree with 1ke. There is no need at a young age to endeavor to specifically teach the TOB to children. Raising them with love, care, and respect for themselves and for others will prepare them for this important message.

I’m no parenting expert, though…I think it’s laudable to want to incorporate the beautiful and often life-changing message of the TOB in teaching your children. I just think that if you instead have as a goal to instill the whole of the Faith as is age-appropriate, you’ll inevitably hit on the TOB. It’s not separate.
 
Rach620 said:
I think it’s important to note that the TOB doesn’t stand apart from Catholic teaching in general. If you teach your child about the dignity of human life, the beauty of all creation, the mystery and goodness of the body, how we are to treat others with respect and love, and how we are created male and female, you will prepare them to understand the Church’s (and John Paul’s) teaching on sexuality (the theology of the body) when they are ready.

Until then, I tend to agree with 1ke. There is no need at a young age to endeavor to specifically teach the TOB to children. Raising them with love, care, and respect for themselves and for others will prepare them for this important message.

I’m no parenting expert, though…I think it’s laudable to want to incorporate the beautiful and often life-changing message of the TOB in teaching your children. I just think that if you instead have as a goal to instill the whole of the Faith as is age-appropriate, you’ll inevitably hit on the TOB. It’s not separate.
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Rach, what you said in your first paragraph IS TOB. So by saying not teaching TOB until older you are contradicting yourself.

As someone who has been to the TOB institute for all of the classes offered so far, and also work with teens, as well as assisted at Steubenville conferences and things, this is the biggest and most frustrating thing I have come across.

Let me be clear. TOB is NOT only simply something that talks about Marriage and the marital act. It is NOT only just something that teaches why we don’t use contraception. A TOB talk should NOT be a “chastity” talk.

Little do a lot of people realize one of the biggest things about TOB is JPII uniting Thomsim with Phenomenology. You better believe we should be teaching objective truth to children.

Everyone things the word “sexuality” means genital activity. NO! Let’s reclaim the real definitions. Sexuality means being male or female. This is from Birth…“It’s a boy! It’s a girl!” Our relationship with our children as a boy or girl is teaching them about sexuality. This is healthy and not stealing their innocence.
 
agapewolf said:
Rach, what you said in your first paragraph IS TOB. So by saying not teaching TOB until older you are contradicting yourself.
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TOB doesn’t have exclusive claim to these elements of Catholic teaching. They are part of Catholic theology overall and don’t need to be placed into the TOB “box”.

I know and have studied the TOB (JPII’s original writings). I know that it’s not just about sexuality. But what it contains that is not about sexuality does not stand apart from the whole of Catholic theology about the dignity of life, of men and women, about vocation, about creation, etc. It’s not that TOB adds something extra to Catholicism, but that it’s just one way of explaining certain aspects of Catholicism.

Parents who strive to bring up their children in the fullness of the faith will implicitly teach them the “non-explicit sexuality aspects” of the TOB without needing to endeavor to especially do so. That’s all I’m saying. You don’t need Christopher West to help teach you how to raise an elementary school kid.
 
Rach620 said:
TOB doesn’t have exclusive claim to these elements of Catholic teaching. They are part of Catholic theology overall and don’t need to be placed into the TOB “box”.

I know and have studied the TOB (JPII’s original writings). I know that it’s not just about sexuality. But what it contains that is not about sexuality does not stand apart from the whole of Catholic theology about the dignity of life, of men and women, about vocation, about creation, etc. It’s not that TOB adds something extra to Catholicism, but that it’s just one way of explaining certain aspects of Catholicism.

Parents who strive to bring up their children in the fullness of the faith will implicitly teach them the “non-explicit sexuality aspects” of the TOB without needing to endeavor to especially do so. That’s all I’m saying. You don’t need Christopher West to help teach you how to raise an elementary school kid.
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But it also IS included in the TOB writings, with excellent explanation…that is my point. the “TOB box” has been so specifically narrowed that it can become detrimental and offputting in hearing the word.

And the way you wrote this makes it sound as if you resent Westipher. At the institute, when his family comes for some of the meals, people watch him with his kids. The comments his children make (that he relays to us), shows that he is implementing it and teaching it well at home, and there is nothing wrong with learning from someone like that. If I ever have children, I WOULD need the example of someone like Westipher to learn from. The OP is asking for help…nothing wrong with realizing this, and using examples from others to mentor in parenting.
 
agapewolf said:
But it also IS included in the TOB writings, with excellent explanation…that is my point.
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I get what you’re saying, that it is also included in the TOB writings. But TOB is a lens through which to view Catholic theology, not the other way around. That was my only point in offering suggestions to the OP. If she teaches her children the fullness and beauty of the Catholic faith, she will be teaching the TOB, even if she’s not using terms like “personalistic norm,” etc.
agapewolf said:
And the way you wrote this makes it sound as if you resent Westipher. At the institute, when his family comes for some of the meals, people watch him with his kids. The comments his children make (that he relays to us), shows that he is implementing it and teaching it well at home, and there is nothing wrong with learning from someone like that. If I ever have children, I WOULD need the example of someone like Westipher to learn from. The OP is asking for help…nothing wrong with realizing this, and using examples from others to mentor in parenting.
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I don’t resent West, I just don’t view him as the only/main/best interpreter of the TOB. 🤷 Sure, we can all learn from other parents, and West can be included in that if one wishes, but my point in all of these posts has been that Catholic parents who are raising their children in the fullness of faith, with wonder and awe for creation and respect for others, don’t need to worry about specifically “teaching” the TOB to young children. By raising them in this Catholic way, they are teaching them principles of the TOB that will lay the foundation for the full appreciation of the nuptial meaning of the body, etc. later on in life. I had hoped that this would ease the burden, so to speak, on the OP in approaching catechesis at home.
 
There are certain things that come up when raising children that do require us as parents to answer questions. Why does my baby brother look different than me? Or the lovely body discovery, that sometimes children partake in at inappropriate times or places. And, when you ask them why they are doing what they are doing, the response usually is 'because it makes me feel nice."

As someone who teaches Theology of the Body for Teens in our parish, I had a moment when a student told me in her homework that to stay away from the temptation of lust, that we need to repress our sexuality. I told her that our sexuality, we have to remember is a gift from God, and ‘repress’ isn’t the right word, but we should ‘redirect’ our lust (objectifying someone else) into charity or love, (doing for the other).

So how can we turn this ideal into our children who are young. It is not outside the realm of possibilities for little kids to take to exploring their bodies. Part of it is being a child, but if you turn a blind eye to this just saying it is a phase, you’re missing out on an opportunity to teach. I’ve suggested to a friend who is having this issue with her young daughter, to tell her daughter who does this because it ‘makes me feel good’ to talk to her about the idea of being a servant to others. Instead of focusing on yourself, and what makes you ‘feel good’, when you want to be doing this thing that brings you joy, stop yourself, and go do something nice for one of your siblings or your mom & dad.

I came on this message board looking for other elementary school TOB stuff, and wanted to add a post because it seems like other people are wondering how to incorporate the Church’s teaching on our bodies into things that will definitely come up in the course of raising children of all different ages.

Children are innocent, but they are also smarter a lot of times than we give them credit for.
I have 2 and am expecting a 3rd, and I nursed my daughter until she was 1, and my son until he was 20 months - my daughter would me nursing, but around other family members, I would always cover up. With the kids, I didn’t always have that luxury because she would be on the other side of my lap with me reading her a book while I nursed! The other day, my daughter was on the couch and took her baby doll and started to nurse it. She said to me, mommy, God made our ‘tummies’ (that’s what she calls breasts) so that we could feed our babies. Pretty smart kid. 🙂

God bless all you Catholic parents out there trying to do what is best for your children. The Holy Spirit will guide us to do what is best for our families, and as long as we keep focused on raising them as God wants us to, He will make sure everything turns out right! Holy Family pray for us!
 
Odell said:
I have read quite a bit on TOB and want to start conveying this message to my 5 year old. I have started by letting her know she is made in the image of God and so is everyone else. And no one is meant to be an object of use.

I also know that Christopher West has a young kid or two. What does he do?

Anyway I see books all the time for teens but honestly waiting until they are teens is to long. Are there books geared to younger kids. I have thought of my sefl taking the PJPII weekly audiences and writing it in a way a child would understand it.
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I’d say wait. Your adult world is not your child’s world. Don’t see ghosts that are not there. She is an innocent creature who doesnt care about teenage problematics…

Let her be a child. Teach her not to go with any strangers, and to report it immediately if somebody touches her in a private way. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
Our archdiocese pulled out our priest from our parish and placed him in a permanent teaching ministry for Theology of the Body. One of his tasks is to come up with programs targeted for different age groups. From young kids to teens to marriage preparation. He’s still a long ways in this, but certainly there is much in Theology of the Body that would cater to kids.

The simple message for kids is, God made you body and soul, love them both!

Sameless plug: look at my sig and join our Theology of the Body group!
 
There is a new TOB out for middle schoolers. Go the the TOB for Teens website to see it.
 
Can I take this string one more step? The first person has a five-year old but I have an 8-year old going on 9 and I want to begin the conversation specific to that age-old “where do babies come from?” question so I can begin to the body-changing discussions. (Our family history ranges from 9-15 for puberty so I’d like to get started.) I’d also like to present this in a faith-based way before she gets it in school. (Yes, she goes to public school.)

I’ve seen a few good secular books (I think) on the subject that get into the biology at a level she could understand and the American Girl series has a nice one on the Taking Care of Myself for younger girls but I was hoping to find something that included our Theology of Body “basics” as another person had noted.

Maybe I’m too specific in my search???

Any feedback would be great. Thanks!
 
tobet.org/product/tob-tots/
These are board books intended for children 2-5.

tobet.org/product/tob-for-kids-3-volume-set/
These are for children 5-9.

It is possible to lay the foundations for a healthy understanding of the body with young children. (This does not mean introducing sexuality to small children!) However, kids can be taught that their bodies are significant and God-given, that their actions speak a certain “language” (like smiling, giving gifts, helping someone). This is a healthy message, in and of itself, but it is especially poignant now, when kids are receiving a different message from the culture, that bodies are insignificant, disposable, accidental and “wrong.”
 
West’s works should be burned.

Children of that age need to be taught basic things about private parts, privacy, inappropriate touches, not trusting strangers, etc.
 
The TOBET books are not about safety around strangers. That is an entirely different subject, a sadly necessary one, but no… these books are for laying a foundation in children’s minds and hearts that a body reflects the soul of the person, that bodies are gifts, that bodies “mean” something in God’s plan.
 
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