It takes far more courage to protect boundaries than it does to violate them.Teaching children to protect themselves pushes against the weight of
It takes far more courage to protect boundaries than it does to violate them.
Teaching children to protect themselves pushes against the weight of history and tradition. It is harder work. It is uncomfortable work. It asks adults to face days when they may not feel like dealing with an empowered child. It challenges culture, custom, and ideology. It demands change.
To protect a boundary, a child must build muscles of confidence, awareness, and resilience.
But it is not just the child—it is everyone around that child who must shift. Teachers, parents, coaches, faith leaders, and friends all have to learn how to honor and uphold those boundaries. And yes, that can be difficult.
Violating boundaries is easier. It is the path of least resistance. It is easier to demean women and girls, to dismiss people with disabilities, to disregard Black peoples, to silence those who practice a faith we do not approve of, or to trample over children simply because they have less power in society. For too long, depriving people of boundaries around their bodies and spaces has been a shortcut to false power—power clung to by the weak.
I remember hearing about a middle school girl who quietly left her lunch table one day after a group of boys began
mocking her body.
When asked later why she didn’t fight back with words, she said: “Because if I stay, I’m telling myself it’s okay to be treated like that.” Her quiet act of leaving was a line drawn in the sand. It wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t loud. But it was powerful. The next day, two of her friends joined her at a different table. Before long, that table became a gathering place of respect, safety, and laughter.
That’s what real courage looks like. It doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it simply stands up, or walks away, or says, “This is mine to protect.”
The Call
We must remember: protecting boundaries is a revolutionary act. It reshapes families. It reshapes classrooms. It reshapes whole cultures. And when children learn this courage early, they carry it into adulthood—where the world will desperately need it.
Real courage is protecting—not violating—boundaries.