I remember sitting on the floor of my college dorm with a group of young women my freshman year when someone mentioned they had learned how to manage their menstrual cycle from the book The Care & Keeping of You (American Girl Publishing). Everyone chimed in about their own experiences with that book growing up in the ’90s and early 2000s. Many of us received it from our moms during a talk about puberty and sex with little to no follow-up conversations about our changing bodies and reproductive health.
Looking back, it’s clear that many of us still didn’t really know how our bodies worked by the time we got to college. Not only was this a health and safety risk, it also meant we were limited in our ability to acknowledge the value and dignity of our bodies as beings created in the image and likeness of God.
Recent generations have upheld a culture of silence around talking to children about bodies. Adults have relied too heavily on books and the education system to teach body literacy—the observing, learning about, and understanding of one’s body—instead of having authentic conversations. This has resulted in many young adults reaching adolescence or even adulthood without basic knowledge about the human body. And relying on these books or the education system tends to leave religion and morality entirely out of the context in which this learning about bodies happens.
By teaching body literacy within the context of Catholic teachings on human dignity, we can better form kids who respect their bodies and the bodies of others. We can also help kids understand that faith and science are not separate topics but perspectives that together help them have a fuller understanding of how their bodies work.
According to a 2023 study by The Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, only 27 states and Washington, D.C. require sex education at all. Just 26 states require that the information is medically accurate, and some of those rules only apply when talking about HIV, not sex education in general. Only 27 states require sex education to be age-appropriate based on the social, cognitive, emotional, and experience level of most kids in an age range. In religious spaces, we often tend to focus on sexual ethics and neglect to actually educate kids on how their bodies work and what it looks like to respect our own and one another’s human dignity in the context of relationships.
That means a lot of kids’ body education comes from whispered conversations, playground myths, social media, or pornography. This often leads to confusion, shame, and misunderstanding. It can make normal processes feel embarrassing or wrong, since the adults kids trust aren’t talking about them. Even worse, it can lead to secrecy and shame when something actually is wrong, like abuse or illness. If you don’t know how your body is supposed to work or what is or is not appropriate, how can you notice and communicate when something seems abnormal or uncomfortable? We need to give kids language and confidence to address these situations well, grounded in the knowledge that their dignity comes from God.
Ongoing conversations at home provide a better way to accompany kids than undiscussed resource books or inadequate and sometimes inaccurate school presentations. Trusted caregivers have the power to shift the norm from one awkward talk when a child reaches adolescence to multiple conversations about bodies as children grow.
Teaching body literacy at home shouldn’t start with a “sex talk” and does not need to get bogged down in hot-button issues like contraception, abortion, and sex outside of marriage. Understanding and respecting our bodies is about more than reproductive health and sexual activity. It includes sharing language that shapes how we feel about our bodies when it comes to hunger, fatigue, and emotions and reminding children that their bodies are good regardless of how they look or what support they need to function. It fosters self-knowledge and dignity, protects against shame and confusion, and equips people to make informed, values-aligned decisions about their health and relationships.
Body literacy affirms that bodies are good, purposeful, and worth understanding even if the resources you are using aren’t explicitly religious. When reading and discussing age-appropriate books about diversity and anatomy with the kids in your care, you can always add that every single part of the body is amazingly created by God.
Use anatomically correct terms
One of the ways that we can reduce shame, as well as create safety, confidence, and respect in even the youngest children, is by using anatomically correct terms for body parts. With infants and toddlers, this can be as simple as naming body parts during bath time: “Let’s wash your body from head to toe—hair, cheeks, ears, vulva/penis, anus, ankles.” Children who know the correct names for their body parts are less vulnerable to abuse, because they can communicate clearly if something feels uncomfortable. They are also more confident in speaking up if these topics don’t feel shameful to them.
Model consent
Another early way to teach respect for our bodies and the bodies of others is through lessons about consent. This can be as simple as asking if someone wants a hug before giving them one, checking with someone before taking their picture or sharing a photo of them with others, or asking if they want help with what they are doing before getting involved.
Along with asking for consent comes learning to respect the answer, which will sometimes be, “No.” Stating our own boundaries and honoring the boundaries of others is a show of respect and a necessary skill for existing in healthy relationships. When kids grow up in a home and community where their boundaries are respected, they’re more likely to respect the boundaries of others and more likely to speak up about boundaries being crossed.
Answer the question
Often when children ask questions they are looking for specific answers. They don’t need or want a lot of extra information. At age 4, one of my kids asked how babies are born. I answered that many babies are born from their mom’s uterus through the cervix and vagina, or they can be born through a surgery called a C-section. That was all of the information that my kid needed at that moment. We tend to overthink our responses in many aspects of parenting, but you can always return to a conversation and share more information as new questions arise.
Questions about puberty or babies and birth don’t need answers that explain sex and sexual ethics. If you build an age-appropriate foundation of body knowledge with anatomically correct language and an understanding of the importance of consent, then when a kid does ask questions about sex they are ready for the answers to those questions about procreation, intimacy, and morality without needing an overwhelming amount of basic information first.
Support physical health and moral development
We can create homes where body conversations are respectful and empowering while honoring church teaching. Approaching body literacy in this way makes the conversations less focused on sex and family planning and more focused on a deep understanding of the human body as it was created to work by God. In this context, conversations about sexual ethics and respectful relationships can naturally flow.
Teaching children how their bodies work lays the groundwork for thoughtful, values-based decisions as they mature. Body literacy is about teaching kids trust as well as teaching them facts. If kids grow up seeing that it’s normal to rest when tired or to acknowledge how they feel before pushing through, they learn that their bodies are not enemies but wise guides. They are less reliant on external voices and more grounded in self-awareness.
There is an increased awareness of consent and autonomy that comes with body literacy that can help children recognize inappropriate behavior and advocate for themselves. They are better able to see the innate value that they have and recognize the validity of their own and other people’s body boundaries—and that respecting them is important.
Body literacy is a vital part of raising healthy and grounded individuals. Many of us didn’t grow up with this knowledge when we needed it. By teaching today’s kids differently, we can give them confidence, language, and respect for all bodies created in the image and likeness of God. You don’t need to have all the answers to raise body-literate kids. All you need is a willingness to learn alongside them. If we want our children to honor their bodies, we must first teach them how to understand them.
This article also appears in the August 2026 issue of U.S. Catholic (Vol. 91, No. 8, pages 22-23). Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
Image: Unsplash/The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, The Giant Stride, 1933, by Ethel Spowers.
