April 08, 2022
top trending topics
☀️ Summer is around the corner- find the best camp for your kid(s).
🤗 Bring out the best in your kids & teach them to be kind.
🤰 Planned or unplanned, pregnancy can bring a lot of emotions.
👨👧 Girls want & need a healthy relationship with their father.
🚫 It’s normal for siblings to argue, but it doesn’t have to be constant.
tips & tricks for growth
how to teach your son about the importance of consent
It’s hard to miss the headlines about people taking advantage of others, sex trafficking, and lives being changed forever because someone made a decision without asking for or giving consent. In today’s world, parents feel the need to understand and explain consent to their children, but how should you even start that conversation? Is it a different conversation for boys than it is for girls?
Your son’s future, his reputation, and his relationships could be at stake.
Those conversations change as your son continues to change, grow, and have different experiences. The consent conversation I have with my 14-year-old is totally different from the one I have with my 18-year-old. When you have these conversations with your son(s), the key is to affirm, not shame them.
You may have a few questions about consent. Questions like:
Why is consent such a big deal now?
Why does it matter that I talk to my sons about consent?
How do I even begin this conversation?
Having a healthy relationship with your son can set you up for great conversations, and it can help you teach him about the importance of consent.
how to teach your daughters the importance of consent
I’m a dad of daughters. And like other parents, I would do anything to protect my girls. Anything. From harm and from bullies. From being taken advantage of. And from pubescent boys with only one thing on their mind (and I’m not talking about video games…).
But I also know I can give my girls greater gifts: the skills and confidence to protect themselves. A big part of this is teaching them the importance of consent. I call it having consent conversations.
Now, I know the term consent is often a buzzword, especially when sexual harassment, date rape, molestation, and other horrible abuses are in the news. And, good heavens, we need to teach our daughters to guard themselves. I’d like to suggest that consent conversations are more than protection from these sorts of sexual abuses, although they certainly include them.
Consent conversations help your daughter develop self-respect and assertiveness as well as respect for others. It keeps her safe emotionally, physically, and sexually. It gives her a vocabulary to use for upholding boundaries. And it lays the groundwork for having healthier relationships in the future.
So, consent conversations are kind of a big deal.
what we’re lovin’
This week’s picks come from James Woods, #newlywed & husband to Marquita, Dad of 6, and the Community Outreach Specialist here at First Things First. Take a peek at his recommendations for this week because they are just THAT GOOD. Check ’em out 👀:
📲 @Supernova_mommy is such a great Instagram find. This account is a super cool mom who teaches parents about different parenting techniques. It’s always good to hear other parents talk about what works for them and what might work for you- give her a follow!
🤗 If you search #Relatableparenting on Pinterest, there are some great quotes and sayings for parents that will make you smile, laugh, and feel encouraged. (Which we could all use a little bit of, right?) But don’t just take my word for it- definitely give them a try yourself!
😋 This one pot chicken recipe takes about 30 min and you don’t have to add everything- we don’t always and it’s still delicious… it’s a great easy meal for mom or dad to cook on those busy nights- it’s a favorite at our house!
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