TW CW consent, CSA, grooming

Morning, I'm gonna do a thread on the importance of consent and talking to your kids about it from the time they can walk. It's not going to be easy but it is necessary #Ibelieveher #metoo

Why do we need to teach it so early? Can we not just let kids be kids? Well no, sorry, one in four children will experience sexual violence. That is a fact we cannot ignore. These kids will be groomed by predators or preyed o opportunistically. We tell our kids what to do

It's the nature of a parent child relationship. They are used to being told what to do by adults so the differentiation needs to be made. We need to teach them body autonomy, that nobody can touch them in any way unless they want them to

So no more "kiss your nanny" "hug your uncle" you ask your kids do they want to kiss or hug that person and then you tell them to ask that person do they want a kiss or hug. Kids need to get used to asking each other for consent. It takes a second to do. It could protect your kid

I've seen schools do this really well where they line up in the morning and decide if they want to say hi to the teacher by waving, high 5, a hug or just a hello. It really normalises it for them. The only ones who will find it weird are us, because we have been conditioned.

If you do this and somebody tries to touch your child they will know to say no, they won't feel like they have to go along with it. 90% of children are abused by somebody they know, so I'm not talking about stranger danger. We're told to watch out for strangers, not those we know

It's an important conversation and it is never too late to have it. If you need help there's great online resources.
Don't be embarrassed or shy, this is important, and it's your job as a parent/guardian, not their teachers. DMs are open for questions if you need it