Do You Have a Secret? By Jennifer Moore-Mallinos

Hey there! I’m Cath Hak, and welcome to Sex Ed Rescue. On my YouTube channel, I review a bunch of books and help parents with sex education. I also have a website where you can find resources, support, and more information on how to have open and honest conversations with kids about love, sex, relationships, and growing up. Right now, I’m really into adding a bunch of protective behavior books to my collection.

One important topic is secrets, especially when it comes to keeping kids safe from sexual abuse. That’s why I want to talk about a book called Do You Have A Secret by Jennifer Moore Mallinois. It’s been around for a while and it’s perfect for younger children. The thing is, when it comes to sexual abuse, abusers don’t want to get caught, so they try to groom children and make sure they keep secrets. That’s why it’s crucial to start talking to kids about secrets and teach them that we don’t keep secrets about our bodies.

This book is great because it prompts conversations with your child. You can read it once a week or every couple of days and slip it into the bedtime story pile. When my kids were little, we used to read three or four books every night. I would choose a couple, and then they would pick one too. It was a fun routine.

Let me walk you through this book. It starts off by asking if you have a secret and whether it’s a good or bad secret. Nowadays, we tend to use terms like healthy or unhealthy, safe or unsafe instead of good or bad. But don’t worry too much about the terminology. The important thing is to help kids understand the difference between secrets that make them happy and secrets that make them feel worried or uncomfortable.

The book gives examples of good secrets, like keeping a secret about a special birthday present or a secret handshake with a best friend. It’s important to expand their thinking beyond just birthday presents, so they understand the concept of secrets in different situations.

On the other hand, it also talks about bad secrets, which are things that don’t make kids feel happy on the inside. For example, if someone hurts them or touches them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable, it’s definitely a bad secret. The book emphasizes that it’s important to tell a grown-up about bad secrets, even if someone asks them to keep it a secret. We want kids to know that they should never keep a secret that involves someone hurting them or making them feel uncomfortable.

The book ends by reminding kids that secrets can be fun, but if they have a bad secret, it’s always a good idea to tell a grown-up. There are other books out there on this topic too, so you can mix it up and read different ones to keep things interesting.

Remember, no book is perfect, but having a variety of books on secrets can be really helpful. So, give this one a try and maybe explore some others too. The important thing is to keep the conversation going and make sure your kids understand the difference between good and bad secrets.

I hope this was helpful! Take care and keep up the great work in talking to your kids about important topics like this. Cheers!