My Body Is My Body

Bethany James grew up in a small town in Clovis, New Mexico, with a large family of siblings and cousins. Family has always been very important to Ms. James. Because of this, looking after family has always been embedded in her morals and values and a natural nurturer. As the neighborhood babysitter and big sister to her younger siblings, this developed Ms. James into a natural leader and an advocate for children. Ms. James started her own family with a military husband and moved to England. Being far away from all her family and friends from her hometown, made her quickly form a closer bond with her own family full of open communication and sincerity. Ms. James has always taught her own children that if there is something that does not sit right with them, it was imperative that they speak up and talk it out. After spending so many years in England with her tight knit family, she moved back to the United States. One thing that stood out that she was not aware of was not all families were as open with communication. She clearly observed that other children did not seem as open in communication as she taught her own children. Time moved forward and business ownership became Ms. James's focus to open a successful licensed childcare center. Her business took off and she became a highly recommended and trusted childcare provider. Ms. James decided to take her expertise one step further and expanded her vision as an advocate for children by writing a children's book. In her mind, this book needed to be something where children can be interactive by coloring, reading, and learning to feel comfortable by verbally expressing themselves if they ever needed to tell a trusted person some extremely important information if they were in danger. This book also needed to be shared with children to take preventive measures showing children that certain interactions with other people are inappropriate. Her book My Body Is My Body does just that. It is a tool for children of many ages, color, and gender. This book teaches them how important it is to keep themselves safe. A safety net letting them know it is perfectly ok to speak up. Ms. James has been a guest speaker on many podcast platforms such as the Momentum Shift, hosted by Pastor Drea and the Healthy & Uplifted podcast hosted by Dr. Ebere Azumah.Although inappropriate touching is a challenging subject to talk about to many, continuing to be an advocate that creates a safe outlet for children will always be something Ms. James will be a strong supporter of. We must always speak up for every child because little hearts do matter. This is the perfect book that can be bought in bulk orders for social workers, hospitals, preschools, daycare centers, pediatrician offices and many more areas where children are involved. It is an interactive book to be used as an ice breaker or conversation starter for children to open up as well as a preventive protection tool.