6 Principles of Teaching Boundaries and Consent

Chris Yadon Saprea guest post Boundaries and Consent

Consent and boundaries continue to be a hot topic. And, sadly, most people don’t understand the definition of consent much less how to ask for it. So when I heard Chris Yadon of Saprea present on this topic at the CESE Summit, I knew his message was for us. Thank you, Chris, for this timely message.

Nothing will get the hair to stand up on the back of your neck more than when you feel your child is threatened. When my oldest daughter was a sophomore in high school, I remember her coming home and relating that a boy kept hugging her despite her making it clear that she did not want him to. My initial instinct was to immediately intervene, but then I remembered that, in this case, I had the opportunity to reinforce boundaries and consent – principles I had been teaching her for many years. I asked her if she wanted me to intervene or if she would like to try one more time to set and hold a boundary. She elected to do the latter and once more communicated her boundary to this boy. He knew she was serious, and he respected the boundary knowing he needed her consent to hug her.

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Sexting: Helping Our Children Heal From This Epidemic

Kristen Miele of Sex Ed Reclaimed is with us to talk about sexting. I met Kristen when she and I were each presenting at the SHE Recovery Summit. Her topic was sexting, and I quickly asked her to share her expertise at Hopeful Mom. I’m so grateful she agreed.

Sending nudes. Sharing pics. Snapu puas (sending nudes, the words upside down and backwards!). Texxxting. ‘You up?.’

Slang and teenagers go together like pumpkins and pie. There are many terms for sexting: sending explicit photos over the phone, in messages, and online. As adults, we’ll never understand all of the current slang. We actually don’t need to. However, what we do need to know is how to help our children prevent and heal from the epidemic of sexting.

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What You Need to Know About Consent

what you need to know about consent man woman

In the show Ghosts, a modern-day character, Samantha, sees and hears ghosts who reside in the mansion she owns. Each lived during a different time period in history and died in the mansion. In one episode, Hetty, who lived in the 1880’s, has the opportunity to converse with the maid her husband had an affair with while she was living. Hetty has been holding a grudge since before her death. She confronts the maid, accusing her of chasing after her husband.

Wide-eyed, Molly responds, “He pursued me. I wasn’t interested. I didn’t know what to say. So I didn’t say anything.”

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