Mum praised for clever way she taught her children about consent
11 June 2019, 15:41 | Updated: 11 June 2019, 15:42
The issue of consent has become more important with young people than ever.
One woman has opened up about how she taught her 10-year-old son the important lesson of consent.
The mum-of-three revealed that while she hadn’t addressed consensual sex directly, she was able to explain the issue within the context of her daughter’s privacy.
Explaining that her 11-year-old little girl had got annoyed at her brother, 10, because he kept barging into her room unannounced, the unnamed woman said she was forced to have a frank chat with her kids.
The boys argued that their sister had been okay with her brother entering her room for years as they often watched videos and read books together, so why had she suddenly changed her mind?
“This week my daughter was upset that her brother, yet again, went into her room after she was asleep, and took the phone off the charger to charge his iPad,” the mum wrote on Reddit.
“At that point we gave him an ultimatum that if it happened again he would lose device time for a week.
“My oldest son (14) overheard and came to his brother’s defense and said ‘that’s not fair, she’s always telling him to come to her room so they can watch videos and I hear them talking and laughing in there and now she’s gonna suddenly say he can’t and he’s gonna get in trouble?’
“And that’s when I piped in: it IS fair and he will get in trouble, because this is an issue of consent!”
The mum went on to explain to her children that “just because somebody invites you over one time, doesn’t mean you’re invited over forever.”
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She continued: “They are allowed to tell you when it is and isn’t ok for you to come over, and you have to respect that.
“Anybody has the right to say they aren’t enjoying something anymore, at any time, even if they were previously enjoying it, and you have to listen and respect that and stop.
“And most importantly, before doing something with someone, you need to get consent, every time, and sleeping/passed out people can’t give consent.”
The woman added: “So while it wasn’t about sex because it’s not a sexual issue, conversations about boundaries and respect and privacy are ultimately conversations about consent and we have to keep having them over and over so the lines never get blurred.”
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And fans were quick to praise the mum, as one wrote: “Awesome job!! Hope other parents who read this will do that as well”
“Talking about all the ways we practice consent outside of sexual activity is so important. It really helps to hammer the message home,” wrote another.
A third added: “I love this! I agree with how you handled it. You have taught your kids healthy boundaries.
“Not only did you teach your sons to respect your daughter she can say no, and not to be pressured into a yes for the sake of politeness, which is a huge problem. I am totally sharing this with my parent friends!”
