How do I keep my body clean, and what do I do if a touch feels wrong?
Your guess
Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.
By the end you can
Explain how washing and clean clothes help during puberty
Name who to tell if a touch ever feels wrong
In puberty you sweat more. New sweat glands start to work under the arms and around the genitals. Fresh sweat has very little smell. The smell comes when bacteria living on the skin feed on the sweat.
Draw it first
Draw the habits that keep you fresh
1 Write fresh in the middle. Add wash every day.
2 Add clean underwear and clean clothes.
3 Add wash hands and wash face.
Wash your whole body every day with water, and soap where you have it. Wash well under the arms. Wash the genitals and the bottom with plain water. Soap is not needed between the labia, and it can sting there.
From puberty, a little clear or white fluid from the vagina is normal. It keeps the vagina clean, so never wash inside the vagina. See a health worker if it smells bad, itches or changes colour.
After using the toilet, girls wipe from front to back. This keeps germs from the anus away from the vagina and the urethra. Boys with a foreskin pull it back only as far as it goes easily. They wash under it with water. Then they pull it forward again. Never force it.
Change your underwear every day. Wear clean clothes, washed and dried in the sun. Cotton cloth lets the skin breathe.
Wash your hands before you eat, too.
Spots come when tiny holes in the skin get blocked with oil. Wash your face gently with water twice a day. Do not squeeze spots. That can push germs deeper and leave marks.
Staying healthy also means staying safe. Your body belongs to you. Your private parts are the parts covered by underwear.
The parts covered by underwear are private. For girls and women, the breasts are private too.
Nobody may touch your private parts, or make you touch theirs, even if you said yes. Nobody may show you pictures of private parts, or ask you for pictures of yours. This is true for strangers, and for people you know.
Consent means a free yes. You can say no to any touch, even from an adult, and even from someone you love.
A child's yes does not make it all right. An adult or an older child who touches a child's private parts is always in the wrong. So is one who asks to be touched, or shows sexual pictures. This is true even if the child said yes, went along with it, or did not say no. A health worker checking your body is different. They explain and ask first, as below.
A health worker may need to look at your body to help you. They tell you what they will do and why, and ask you first. You can ask for an adult you trust, or another health worker, to be there. You can say stop.
If someone at home is hurting you, you can go on your own for help. Tell a health worker, a teacher or another adult you trust.
If a touch ever feels wrong. If the first adult does not listen, tell another, and keep telling until someone helps.
A good secret is a nice surprise, like a gift, and it will be told soon. A bad secret makes you feel worried or scared. A secret about touching is never one to keep. If someone says to keep it secret, tell all the more.
Keep a good secret for a short time. Tell a bad secret to an adult you trust.
It is never your fault. It is not your fault if you did not say no. It is not your fault if you were scared and kept quiet. It is not your fault if it was someone you know. It is never too late to tell.
See it three ways
As a picture
In words
Choose adults who listen and keep you safe. A faith or community leader you trust is fine too. A friend can help you find the words, but an adult can stop it.
Try it
Draw your trusted adults hand
You need: paper, a pencil.
Draw round your hand on the paper.
On each finger, write the name of one adult you trust and could tell.
On the palm, write how you could reach them: where they live, or where they work.
What you will see: You now have five people. If one does not listen, go to the next one.
If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A wrong idea many people have
If someone I know touched me in a wrong way, it must be my fault.
Why it feels right: The person may say it was your fault, or that you wanted it. Feeling confused or scared can make you blame yourself.
The test that breaks it: Even if you said yes, went along with it, or stayed quiet, it is not your fault. A child cannot agree to this. The older person knew it was wrong.
What is true: It is never your fault. The person who did it is the one in the wrong. Tell an adult you trust.
Key words
bacteria
tiny living things with one cell. Some live on the skin.
private parts
the parts of the body covered by underwear.
consent
a free yes, given without fear or pressure.
Back to your guess
The answer is C: Your body belongs to you. You can say no, and you should tell an adult you trust.
Your body belongs to you. You can say no, get away and tell an adult you trust. A touch that feels wrong is never your fault, whoever it was.
Check yourself
Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.
Why does sweat start to smell more in puberty?
See the answer
Bacteria on the skin feed on the new sweat.
New sweat glands work in puberty. Bacteria feed on their sweat and make the smell, so daily washing helps.
If you chose A: Fresh sweat is mostly water and salt, with little smell. Bacteria on the skin make the smell. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose C: More sweat and smell is normal in puberty. Washing every day takes care of it. Go to S3.4.8.
How often should you change your underwear?
See the answer
Every day
Clean underwear every day keeps sweat and bacteria from building up.
If you chose A: Sweat and bacteria build up in a day. Change it every day. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose B: Bacteria cannot be seen. Change it every day even if it looks clean. Go to S3.4.8.
What is the best way to wash the genitals?
See the answer
With plain water, every day
Plain water cleans the genitals gently. Girls wipe from front to back after the toilet.
If you chose B: Strong soap can sting and upset the skin there. Plain water on the outside is best. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose C: Washing every day keeps the genitals clean and healthy, in puberty most of all. Go to S3.4.8.
Someone asks Mei to keep a touch secret. What should she do?
See the answer
Tell an adult she trusts, and keep telling until someone helps.
A bad secret should be told. If the first adult does not help, she tells another.
If you chose A: A secret about touching is never one to keep, even after a promise. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose C: Forgetting does not keep her safe. Telling a trusted adult does. Go to S3.4.8.
If a touch ever felt wrong, which person could Kofi tell?
See the answer
A teacher or a health worker he trusts
A trusted adult can listen and act to keep him safe.
If you chose A: Telling is right, even if it causes trouble. Keeping safe matters most. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose B: A friend can help him find the words, but an adult can stop it. He should tell an adult. Go to S3.4.8.
Is it ever a child's fault if someone touches their private parts?
See the answer
No. It is never the child's fault.
The person who did it is in the wrong. The child should tell a trusted adult.
If you chose A: Being scared or quiet is not a yes. It is still never the child's fault. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose B: Who it was does not change it. It is never the child's fault. Go to S3.4.8.
If you chose C: A child's yes does not make it all right. The older person is always in the wrong. Go to S3.4.8.
Ana puts on a new pad when she wakes, and changes it every 4 hours. She is awake for 16 hours. How many pads does she use while awake?
See the answer
4 pads
She puts one on at waking and every 4 hours after. 16 ÷ 4 = 4.
From an earlier chapter
Where should a washed cloth pad dry?
See the answer
In the sun, until it is fully dry
Sunlight and a full drying help kill germs, so the pad is clean to wear again.
If you chose A: There is nothing to hide, and a dark damp place lets germs grow. Go to S3.4.5.
If you chose B: A damp pad grows germs. Dry it fully first. Go to S3.4.5.
Keep it
Copy this into your exercise book.
Wash every day and change your underwear every day. Your body belongs to you. If a touch feels wrong: say no, get away, tell a trusted adult and keep telling. It is never your fault.
Draw: Draw your hand and write a trusted adult on each finger.
