As children return to classrooms, activities, sports, and other community settings, the beginning of a new school year is an important time to talk about body safety.
On August 20, 2026, at 7:00PM Eastern Time, Bloom Safe and The Mama Bear Effect hosted a live Back-to-School Body Safety Author Chat on Zoom and YouTube. The free virtual event brought together five children’s authors and prevention advocates for an informative conversation about helping children understand body safety, bodily autonomy, consent, boundaries, appropriate touch, grooming behaviors, secrets, and trusted adults.
The live event has ended, but the complete recording is now available to watch and share:
Watch the Back-to-School Body Safety Author Chat on YouTube
Meet the Authors
The panel featured five authors whose books give parents, caregivers, educators, counselors, and other safe adults age-appropriate ways to begin important conversations with children:
Adrianne Simeone: founder of The Mama Bear Effect; author of My Body is Special and Private, Mi Cuerpo es Especial y Privado and Let’s Talk About Secrets. Instagram: @adrianne_simeone
Diane Tarantini: public-school body-safety educator and survivor of sibling sexual trauma and abuse; author of The Brave Knight. Instagram: @writingdianet
Kimberly King: best-selling author and nationally recognized body-safety educator; author of I Said No!, Body Safety for Young Children and I Said NO! to Hugs. Instagram: @toughtopicsmom
Patrice Griffin: founder of Patrice’s Kids Inc. and child-safety advocate; author of My Body Safety Coloring Book. Instagram: @patriceskids
Steve Simons: founder of Bloom Safe; author of My Body Is for Myself. Instagram: @realstevesimons and @mybodyisformyself and @bloom_safe
Donna Bulatowicz, Ph.D., moderated the conversation, while Natalie Moon of The Mama Bear Effect facilitated the discussion and audience questions.
We are deeply grateful to each panelist, our moderator and facilitator, everyone who helped organize the event, and every parent, educator, advocate, survivor, and community member who joined us live.
Books Can Help Start Difficult Conversations
One of the most important messages of the author chat was that body-safety education does not have to begin with a frightening or overwhelming conversation.
A thoughtfully written children’s book can create a gentle and natural opening. Through stories, illustrations, activities, and shared reading, children can learn simple language for understanding their bodies, expressing their boundaries, identifying unsafe or confusing behavior, and asking a trusted adult for help.
Books also help adults find the words to discuss subjects they may not have learned how to talk about when they were children. They turn an intimidating topic into a conversation that can take place while sitting together at home, in a classroom, at a library, in a counseling office, or in another supportive setting.
Different children learn in different ways, which is why it was so valuable to bring together authors with different styles and approaches. The featured books use storytelling, affirming language, guided conversations, adult instruction, and interactive activities to help make body safety understandable and memorable.
Body Safety Is an Ongoing Conversation
Body safety should not be treated as a single warning delivered once and then forgotten. It is most effective when it becomes an ordinary, ongoing part of how adults care for children.
Age-appropriate conversations can help children understand that:
Their body belongs to them.
They are allowed to have personal boundaries.
They can say no to unwanted or uncomfortable touch.
Safe adults are those that respect their boundaries.
They can talk about behavior that makes them feel uncomfortable, confused, afraid, or unsafe with a safe adult.
They will not be blamed for telling a safe adult.
Adults are responsible for protecting children and responding appropriately when a concern is raised.
These ideas can be introduced gradually and reinforced as children grow. The goal is not to make children afraid of the people around them. The goal is to give them knowledge, language, confidence, and trusted relationships while ensuring that adults and organizations accept their responsibility for creating safe environments.
Why This Conversation Matters at the Start of School
Back-to-school season brings new teachers, coaches, volunteers, caregivers, classmates, activities, transportation arrangements, technology platforms, and daily routines. It is a natural opportunity for families and schools to review safety expectations and ensure children know which adults they can approach when they need help.
The conversation was also especially timely following the U.S. Secretary of Education’s July 10, 2026, Dear Colleague Letter, which reiterated the obligations of schools receiving federal funding to protect students and respond appropriately to sexual misconduct by adults in positions of authority. Dr. Bulatowicz noted that a peer-reviewed study of 6,632 recent high-school graduates found that 11.7% had experienced at least one form of educator sexual misconduct during their K–12 years. She also emphasized the frequently overlooked problem of harmful sexual behavior between children, reinforcing the need for schools to address risks involving both adults and students.
Dr. Bulatowicz also offered one of her research-based Safer Schools consultations as a free give away to one lucky attendee on the live event. Customizable for individual schools and districts, Dr. Bulatowicz’s Safer Schools trainings prepare school personnel to understand professional boundaries, myths vs facts, grooming, conversations about CSA, prevention, applicable laws, concerning or tricky situations, safe environments, composite scenarios, appropriate responses, and more. They incorporate interactive exercises, skill practice, assessment tools, and follow-up activities. Through her Safer Schools consultations, Dr. Bulatowicz also works with administrators to identify what their schools are already doing well, recognize opportunities for improvement, and create specific action plans for strengthening student protection.
Compliance and appropriate institutional responses are essential, but prevention must begin before a child is harmed. Parents, schools, youth-serving organizations, faith communities, and other institutions need practical tools for teaching children, training adults, establishing protective policies, recognizing warning signs, and responding effectively to concerns or disclosures.
Putting Bloom Safe’s Mission Into Action
The author chat directly supported the first two pillars of the Bloom Safe initiative: age-appropriate prevention education for children and effective training for the adults who care for and work with them.
The Bloom Safe Act is working toward a nation where every child can grow, learn, and thrive free from sexual harm. Achieving that vision will require national policy and sustained investment, but it also requires practical action in families and communities today.
Every safe adult matters. Every conversation matters. Every child deserves to be protected, respected, heard, and believed.
Watch and Share the Recording
We encourage parents, teachers, school administrators, counselors, librarians, coaches, faith leaders, childcare professionals, healthcare providers, and everyone who cares for or works with children to watch the recording.
Then help extend the impact of this conversation:
Share the recording with at least five parents, educators, or other safe adults.
Explore the panelists’ books and consider which resources may be appropriate for the children, families, classrooms, or organizations you serve:
Make body safety an ongoing, age-appropriate conversation, not a one-time talk.
Sign and share the Bloom Safe petition supporting the BLOOM SAFE: Make America the Safest Place to Be a Kid Act.
Child sexual abuse is not inevitable. Prevention is possible when informed and committed adults are willing to start the conversation, provide children with practical tools, and build environments in which their safety always comes first.
Together, we can make America the safest place in the world to be a kid.