Talk to Your Children About Healthy Relationships

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Not only do we at HealthyWomen believe in the importance of healthy bodies, we also like to promote healthy relationships”healthy relationships with ourselves, our partners, our friends and our families. And we believe it’s important to teach our children about healthy relationships, both through what we say and what we do.

This is a perfect time to talk about healthy relationships because February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month and Feb. 4 is It’s Time to Talk Day, a national day to promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating abuse.

You may not know that one in three teens will experience some type of abuse from a dating partner in the form of either physical, sexual or verbal abuse. Unfortunately, three out of four of us parents have never had a conversation about domestic violence with our children.

Talking to your children about what it means to have a healthy relationship is a crucial step to ensuring they are prepared to have safe, respectful relationships throughout their lives.

Start the talk

Organizers of the It’s Time To Talk Day observances offer these tips to get the conversation started:

  • Provide your children with examples of healthy relationships and point out examples of unhealthy behavior. Use examples from your own life, television, movies or music.
  • Ask questions and encourage open discussion. Make sure you listen to your children, allowing them time to speak. Avoid analyzing, interrupting, lecturing or accusing.
  • Keep it low-key. Don’t push it if your children aren’t ready to talk. Try again another time.
  • Be supportive and nonjudgmental so your children know they can come to you for help if their relationships ever become unhealthy.
  • If you don’t know the answer to a question, admit it. This builds trust.
  • Reinforce that dating should be fun. Stress that violence and intimidation are never acceptable.
  • Discuss the options your children have if they witness or experience dating violence.
  • Remind your children that they have the right to say “no” to anything they are uncomfortable with or not ready for.
  • Remind them that they must respect the rights of others.
  • Assure your children that they can come to you if they are ever in a relationship that feels uncomfortable, awkward or frightening.
  • Remind them that any decisions they make about a relationship should be their own.

Starting a conversation with your child about healthy relationships isn’t complicated. Every situation is different, but here are some ways you could talk with your children:

  • “What do you think a healthy relationship looks like?”
  • “What do you think an unhealthy relationship looks like?”
  • “In a healthy relationship, you should never feel pressured, unsafe or harmed in anyway.”
  • “Did you know that it’s unhealthy and could be abusive if your partner is pressuring you to do things you don’t want to do or controlling what you do or who you spend time with?”
  • “If you ever feel like this is happening in your relationship, you can talk to me.”

On Feb. 4 parents across the country are joining forces to start having these critical conversations with their kids as part of NO MORE Silence: It’s Time To Talk Day. This annual conversation day, presented by Mary Kay and Break the Cycle’s Love Is Not Abuse campaign in partnership with Verizon, is focused on educating and equipping parents, mentors, youth advocates and others to start talking to teens about healthy relationships. It’s Time to Talk Day also encourages people to make this issue a priority year-round.

Conversation events, called It’s Time To Talk Day Talk-A-Thons, will be happening across the country on Feb. 4. Anyone can attend. If you’re interested in participating in the free Talk-A-Thon events in New York City with Mary Kay Cause Champion Olympic Gold Medalist Jordyn Wieber.

Make healthy relationships a priority

You can commit to making this issue a year-round priority by adding your name to the Love Is Not Abuse Coalition, a group of advocates nationwide that supports and promotes healthy relationships in a variety of ways in their communities. You can also donate no-longer-used wireless phones to HopeLine from Verizon, a program that supports survivors of domestic violence nationwide.

If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse or has a question about relationship health, you can text “loveis” to 22522 for round-the-clock support from advocates at Love Is Respect, sponsored by Mary Kay.

It happened. You knew it would, but you didn’t think it would happen so quickly. In spite of any hope you had of slowing down the clock, you woke up one day to find that your child is not so childlike anymore. Suddenly, hormones are raging, romantic feelings are developing, and, of course, it doesn’t stop there. Before you know it, your teen may be entering the dating world.

For many, raising a teenager is the most intimidating chapter of parenthood. Discipline becomes increasingly difficult and may feel impossible to maintain. It’s tough to know when to set rules and when to give freedom, when to bend and when to stand firm, when to intervene and when to let live.

Communication is often one of the trickiest minefields to navigate. It’s a struggle to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. These conversations and decisions only become more challenging when the time comes for your teen to start dating. As we near the end of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, we want to remind parents how important it is to do their part to help prevent teen dating violence and promote healthy relationships.

If you are a parent to a blossoming teen, consider discussing these crucial aspects of relationships with your child before he or she enters into a relationship:

1. Define a Healthy Relationship

Be sure to teach your teen about the foundations of a healthy relationship. Explain that a healthy relationship comes from respect, mutual understanding, trust, honesty, communication, and support.

A relationship should consist of healthy boundaries that are established and respected by both partners equally. A good partner will accept you as you are, support your personal choices, and praise you for your achievements. A healthy relationship also allows both partners to maintain outside interests and friendships, and does not hinder the personal freedom of either partner.

2. Describe the Different Types of Abuse and Associated Warning Signs

There are many different types of abuse your teen should be aware of before entering into a relationship. These include physical, emotional, sexual, financial, and digital abuse, as well as stalking.

  • Physical abuse occurs when a person uses physical force to harm another, but need not result in visible injuries to qualify. Hitting, kicking, pushing, biting, choking, and using weapons are all forms of physical abuse.
  • Emotional abuse can take the form of insults, humiliation, degradation, manipulation, and intimidation. Emotional abuse can involve forced isolation, coercion, or use of fear or guilt to control or belittle.
  • Sexual abuse involves any act that directly or indirectly impacts a person’s ability to control their own sexual activity and the conditions surrounding it. It can take many forms, including forced sexual activity, using other means of abuse to pressure one into an activity, and restricting access to condoms or birth control.
  • Financial abuse is a form of emotional abuse that uses money or material items as a means of power and control over another person.
  • Digital abuse is any form of emotional abuse using technology. A person may use social media, texting, or other technological means to intimidate, manipulate, harass, or bully someone.
  • Stalking is persistent harassment, monitoring, following, or watching of another person. These behaviors can be difficult for teens to recognize as abuse, as they may sometimes see it as flattering or believe the other person is engaging in such behaviors only out of love.

If you’re feeling unsure about how to teach your teen to distinguish between a healthy and unhealthy relationship, or if you would like additional resources on the warning signs of relationship abuse or promoting positive relationships, consider visiting loveisrespect.org.

Loveisrespect is a nonprofit organization that works to educate young people about healthy relationships and create a culture free of abuse. Its website offers a wealth of information for teens and parents and provides 24/7 support via phone, text, or chat.

3. Explain the Differences between Lust, Infatuation, and Love

Distinguishing between infatuation and love can be difficult for many adults; imagine how complicated it can be for a teenager who is experiencing many new feelings for the first time. Take a moment to explain to your teen that attraction and desire are physiological responses that can occur separately from emotions.

Make sure he or she understands that infatuation is not the same as love. Infatuation may give us butterflies, goose bumps, and that “can’t eat, can’t sleep” type of feeling, but it isn’t the same as love. Love takes time to grow, whereas infatuation may happen almost instantly.

4. Talk Realistically about Sex

While it may be tempting to skip this conversation, it’s in everyone’s best interests to talk to your teen about sex. Ask yourself whether you want your teen to hear this information from you or someone else.

On its website, the Mayo Clinic suggests turning the topic into a discussion rather than a presentation. Be sure to get your teen’s point of view and let your teen hear all sides from you. Discuss the pros and cons of sex honestly. Talk about questions of ethics, values, and responsibilities associated with personal or religious beliefs.

5. Set Expectations and Boundaries

It is important to set expectations and boundaries you have now regarding your teen dating rather than defining them through confrontation later. Let your teen know any rules you may have, such as curfews, restrictions on who or how they date, who will pay for dates, and any other stipulations you might have. Give your teen an opportunity to contribute to the discussion, which can help foster trust.

6. Offer Your Support

Be sure to let your teen know you support him or her in the dating process. Tell your teen you can drop off or pick up him or her, lend a compassionate and supportive ear when necessary, or help acquire birth control if that fits with your parenting and personal philosophies. However you intend to support your teen, make sure he or she knows that you are available.

7. Use Gender-Inclusive Language that Remains Neutral to Sexual Orientation

When you open the discussion with your teen about relationships and sexuality, consider using gender-inclusive language that remains neutral to sexual orientation. For example, you might say something like, “Are you interested in finding a boyfriend or girlfriend?” rather than automatically assuming your teen has a preference for the opposite sex. Deliver this language with genuine openness and love.

By opening up the possibility of being attracted to both genders right away, you will not only make it easier for your teen to be open with you about his or her sexual orientation, but you’ll likely make your teen feel more comfortable with his or her identity, regardless of who your teen chooses to date.

8. Be Respectful

Most importantly, be respectful when talking to your teen about dating and relationships. If you communicate with your teen in a gentle, nonobtrusive manner that respects his or her individuality, opinions, and beliefs, then your teen will be much more likely to do the same for you. This helps to create a healthy and open line of communication between you and your child and ultimately could improve your teen’s self-esteem.

9. Know When to Ask for Outside Help

There is help available if you’re struggling to talk to your teen about dating and sexuality. In addition to our advice, there are numerous resources available online to help you start a constructive conversation. Additionally, if your teen is experiencing relationship problems and/or your talks about relationships aren’t going well, consider finding a family therapist who can help mediate the conversations and promote emotional intelligence and healthy behaviors. Teaching your kids what it means to be in a healthy relationship is simply too important of a message to leave to chance and may even save his or her life someday.

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