Voices for Voices®

Child Safety Through Storytelling: A Reading of Kathy Picard's Book | Ep 253

• Founder of Voices for Voices®, Justin Alan Hayes • Season 4 • Episode 253

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Child Safety Through Storytelling: A Reading of Kathy Picard's Book | Ep 253

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We dive into the powerful children's book "I Love You So Much That" by Kathy Picard, which teaches children about personal safety and boundaries through a loving, conversational approach.

• Kathy Picard is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse who became a law-changer in Massachusetts
• Her book provides parents with a gentle framework for discussing difficult safety topics with young children
• Complete reading of "I Love You So Much That" demonstrates how to integrate safety messages into expressions of care and love
• Discussion of why addressing "taboo" topics openly helps protect children in today's digital world
• Reminder that reaching even one person with prevention resources makes all advocacy efforts worthwhile
• The book is available in English and Spanish where books are sold (Amazon, iloveyousomuch.org)

If you found this episode helpful, please give us a big thumbs up, like, share, subscribe, and follow. Your support helps us reach our goal of helping 3 billion people.

#ChildSafety #StorytimeForKids #KathyPicardBooks #ReadingWithKids #BookReadAloud #SafetyThroughStories #ChildrenLiterature #ParentingTips #EducationalBooks #StorytellingMagic #KidSafeStories #LiteracyForKids #EmpowerChildren #SafeAndSoundReads #Iloveyousomuchthat #FamilyStorytime #VoicesforVoices #VoicesforVoicesPodcast #JustinAlanHayes #JustinHayes #help3billion

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Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Voices for Voices TV show and podcast. I'm your host, founder and executive director of Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes. Thank you so much for the love and support you've given us to put this show on time after time, episode after episode. We actually just surpassed episode number 250 on our way to at least 300 total episodes in studio and out of studio, episodes that we'll be reaching by the end of calendar year 2025. And we have nobody but you to thank. Thank for that. Thank you for your support, thank you for your prayers.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Uh, we, we all, can use a little, uh, a little boost and a little help. So, thank you. And we have, as we do, we talk about real life, real stories, tips, tricks, again all covered under the First Amendment free speech. It just seems that there's just so much, so much abuse that's going on to people now versus 10, 20, 30 years ago, and I get it. You know, social media is, I guess, help boost the profile to hopefully make some changes. And we have the Take it Down Act, which is the Take it Down Law. Now You've heard me talk about this. We've had the great guests Alison Barry, her mom, miss Anna, and so there are again. We talk about different voices, different ways of sharing your voice, and in uh, not not just in this space, but are going to be sharing a voice of one of our past guests and she's going to be coming on our show again here very shortly, so we'll be getting some updates from her.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Her name is Kathy Picard. She resides on the East coast of the United States. She was, unfortunately, sexually abused when she was younger. She took a long time, as it does for many survivors of any type of abuse, any type of trauma so she came out and she wanted to make a difference, and so that's what she's doing. She's a law changer, for I believe it's the state of Massachusetts where individuals are able to report this type of abuse, this type of abuse in a little bit later fashion, because we all process trauma, we all process things differently, and so she is a huge advocate. Again, her name is Kathy Picard. Speakers at our very first brand new day event before we were turned into an organization, not just an event. And as time goes on, the event takes different forms. Time goes on, the event takes different forms, and over the years, kathy and I, we have stayed in contact and we support each other with the ventures we're doing. And so that kind of leads me to my first ask is, if you're able to, if you can give us a big thumbs up like share, subscribe, follow. That's free to do and that helps us get marching towards our goal of helping 3 billion people over the course of my lifetime and beyond. So thank you for that. So we're going to share a voice in a little bit of a different way.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Kathy has taken a lot of time and effort not just to stop changing the law. She actually went ahead and has published a children's book, kind of introduced them to things that if you're experiencing that they're not right, you need to say something. And we talk about what age. Do we talk to our children? If we have children or nephews and nieces, at what age do we have a conversation? Because, as we know, with the advent of phones and tablets and iPads, that our children are being exposed to so many different things than what I had and many of us, when we were growing up, we didn't have phones, we didn't have the internet. You know, we were outside a lot playing, that we didn't have to worry about being children and being taken, being snatched up, kidnapped, but now, as we know, things have been kind of turned on its head. So Kathy did go ahead and, just like myself, she didn't want to just stop at one thing.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

She wants to go further, and so what we're going to do today is do an actual book reading of her book. And so let me see here with this glare here. So it is titled I love you so much that. And then written by Kathy J Picard, so that's who we're talking about. The illustrations are by D Louise Nicholson, and so what we're going to do is we're going to read this story because it's important and it's just an incredible way to bring awareness and how we can help as parents, as leaders in the community, leaders of our families, and so we're doing this, and we are very excited to be able to do this. And you can pick up your very own copy where books are sold. I believe Amazon has this now, not only in English, but has it also in Spanish, and I'm not quite sure if it's made it to audio, on audible, but I'm pretty sure, if it hasn't, that the Kathy is looking at how to how to make that happen.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

So here we go. I love you so much that you know you have your mom and dad there and the child, the cub. I love you so much that, okay, and so we have you know kind of the legal things copyright. But what's also here is kind of dedication and it says that this heartfelt project is dedicated in loving memory of Danny Croteau and Molly Bish. The collective courage shown by their families, close friends and countless advocates leaves a permanent legacy that reminds us to keep searching for answers as we work towards change. One person can make a difference in the life of a child, and by doing so makes the world a safer place for all. So here we go, let's see, maybe, if I can do, which way is kind of easier to see. Okay, you are so very special to me. It's not just you, it's not just your face or your smile or your snuggles, it's your whole self, in fact. In fact, uh, here we go.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

I love you so much that I ask you to eat vegetables so you will be healthy. Why, so you will be healthy? I love you so much that I asked you to do your chores. Why? So you can see how much you can do. I love you so much that I asked you to go outside and play so you can get lots of fresh air and exercise. I love you so much that when you go outside, sometimes I ask you to wear a coat. Why? So you will be warm and toasty and won't catch a cold. I love you so much that I ask you to brush your teeth. Why? So you always have a wonderful smile to share with the world. I love you so much that I ask you to go to bed at a certain time. Why? So you can have sweet dreams and wake up ready to have a great day.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

I love you and want you to be safe so that I ask you to pay attention to your teachers in school. Why? So you will learn things that will help you take care of yourself when you grow up. Who else should you pay attention to? I love you and want you to be safe so much that I don't want you to go with or talk to people you don't know. Why? Because a stranger could never take care of you or love you as much as I do. Do you know how to tell if someone is a stranger?

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

I love you and want you to be safe so much that I want you to keep your private parts private. Why? Because private means we don't show or share them with other people. Is there a time when it's okay for someone to see your private parts? I love you and want you to be safe so much that you can always come to me when you're not sure what to do. Why? Because it feels good to know there is someone that sometimes I let you make your own decisions. Why? So you can figure out what makes you happy. I love you and want you to be happy so much that sometimes we sit down and read books like this together. Why? Because this is our special time together and it makes me happy too. I love you and want you to be happy so much that I always make sure you're tucked in at night. Why? So you'll feel safe and warm and snug as a bug in a rug. I love you and want you to be happy so much that I kiss you goodnight as often as I can. Someday you'll be big enough To take care of yourself. Until then, I am here. That ends our lovely story. I love you so much. That, written by Kathy J Picard, illustrated by D Louise Nicholson. A little bit about the author. A little bit about the author.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Author Kathy J Picard has been a children's advocate for over two decades and wrote this simple, straightforward story as a much-needed resource to share how love cares for and protects a child. She understands how communicating this message early and often helps to bring and build a solid foundation of self-worth that will help them navigate life a little more safely. Husband Gary and four-legged family members Abby and Sophie. Abby shared her wisdom and moral support throughout the story about the illustrator. Once upon a time, d Louise Nicholson exercised her tenacity and earned her degree at the Rhode Island School of Design. She completed this project for every child, past and present. For every child past and present, thanks to her amazing son Jason and slightly younger sister Robina M.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

And then here is the spot where you can fill in with this book belongs to, and then the back cover here what does love look and feel like to a child and how do we explain the unexplainable In an easy-to-read format? The author's warm words are paired with soft, simple illustrations to help address a tough subject. Love is care and protection and teaches responsibility by example. This enchanted story begins the conversation so many of us never had as children. In doing so, it plants the seed early enough in a young life to possibly make the difference, and we want you to know here at the bottom to please visit iloveyousomuchorg for more information.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Here we go the glare, trying to get the glare off here. I love you so much that and so we want to. We want to thank Kathy and D Louise for for having this resource available to parents, to adults and and talking about you, talking about tough subjects such as the strangers, and they shouldn't be touching our private parts, etc. And we've gotten some feedback. Why do you talk about some of these topics? Well, we talk about them because we, as an organization Voices for Voices and myself, justin Allen Hayes we feel we have a civic duty to bring up when there's public safety concerns, to bring up when there's public safety concerns, and a child or anybody who has been abused in any form, way or fashion should have as many resources available to take her time.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

It takes a lot of time to put a story, a book together, and again, so much that it's now also in Spanish, and it's just an incredible way to give back to the community, to children, to people all over, not only the United States, our home state of Massachusetts, but across the world. We want every child and adult to be safe, to feel safe, to have a sense of security. And, again, safety and having anybody be abused is a public health, public safety concern because of the heinousness of the particular topic that we talked about. So, thank you, kathy, thank you for being a light for so many, thank you for sharing your wisdom, your words, your thoughts, your feelings, for being an advocate for so many. And again, we don't.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

We don't know how many people actually reach you know our books, our shows, but the the, the reason why we do it, is because we want to help, we want to make the world a better, safer place. We want people to feel comfortable sharing their stories, talking about it, and that's why we, again, we love our United States of America Constitution, we love our First Amendment, right of a free speech, and it's something that we value, we cherish. And, to wrap up, we may like a person or we may dislike them or we may dislike them, but in the United States of America, under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, whether you like it or not, not only do you have the right to share and express your opinion and opinions and experiences, but so do we at Voices for Voices, anybody associated with Voices for Voices, any and all guests that we've had on, and we feel that, not even feel we know that we're reaching again. We know we're reaching at least one person. Again, we know we're reaching at least one person. Now that's one less person that has to go through a type of abuse, abusive situation, contemplating ending their life. If we're able to help again just one, it's worth it because that's again that's one less person that has to go potentially through situation and, as we all know, doesn't just impact the actual individual. It impacts family members, friends, colleagues, teammates, coaches, the community.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Voices for Voices TV Show and Podcast, again something for you to do. Give us a big thumbs up like share, subscribe, follow. We value you so much that we keep going. We keep producing content, sharing content, talking about tough subjects, talking about what may be considered taboo or well. We don't talk about that and we want to turn away from a bystander society where we just walk by or just scroll by you know something that's happening to someone else because we don't want to deal with it.

Voices for Voices, Justin Alan Hayes:

We don't want to get you know involved and have to give our, you know our story, what we saw or what we heard, but our voice of our voices, we do we share. If we see, we hear, we heard. But at Voices for Voices, we do we share. If we see, we hear, we share. And we thank you for giving us this platform to do so. And we again want to thank Kathy J Picard and D Louise Nicholson for the hard work, dedication. I just about got it, I think. Yeah, there we go. I love you so much that go, go pick up your copy, uh, where books are sold, and you will not regret it, and you'll be helping not only yourself, your family, but again, you'll be reaching at least that one person that may never have to endure what people like Kathy and David and others have endured. So until next time, I am your host, founder and executive director of Voices for Justin Alan Hayes, and we hope that you are a voice for you or somebody in need. Thank you so much, thank you.

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