WHY TEACH MY KIDS ABOUT CONSENT?
Communication, respect, and honesty are the building blocks of healthy relationships, and consent is about all of those things.
Teaching kids about the skills of consent can help reduce sexual coercion, harassment, and even assault.
When we teach kids about consent, we help them learn how to express what they want and don’t want.
We give them tools to express their limits. We teach them that they deserve to be treated in a respectful way. Teaching consent also means teaching kids that it’s just as important to respect others’ limits and wishes. We teach them that their friends have a right to say “no” and “yes” and have that be respected.
Click here for a downloadable PDF.
USING THE PARENT DISCUSSION GUIDE
You can use the 1-minute video to spark conversations with your tween/teen about respectful relationships, the importance of consent, and how teens can ask for and give consent in their friendships and dating relationships.
The PARENT GUIDE offers simple conversation starters to open up a discussion after watching the video.
IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY
Talking about consent can start at any time…and it’s never too late to begin the conversation.
As early as age 1, we can begin teaching kids that “no” and “stop” are important words and should be honored by children and adults. We can teach even very young children that they have a right to have their “no” and “yes” respected too.
The more you talk about consent, the more normal it will become, so talking openly and respectfully with friends and partners will become second nature.
