Michelle Mitchell is an award winning parenting educator, former teacher and regarded as a 'teenage expert' by the media. In this article she explores Consent and what it means for tweens and teens.
My two sons are 24 and 21. They would both be disgusted if anyone were to suggest that sex was something to be done to someone, rather than with someone. Am I proud that they understand consent? Not overly. As a mother who desires to raise emotionally intelligent young men, consent doesn’t even scratch the surface of what I want them to understand about intimate relationships.
Over the past few years, the term consent has been elevated and is now firmly embedded into formal education. None would argue that kids should be taught that all people must gain wholehearted agreement before every sexual encounter without using cohesion, pressure, manipulation or force, or the use of drugs or alcohol, and that there is never a time when sex should be taken from someone. However, in our discussions at school and home, I hope we also remind kids that consent is a legal term, not the gold standard for sexual activity. All our kids deserve to know that consent does not ensure fulfilling sexual experiences. There is so much more to healthy relationships.
To continue reading, visit Michelle's web site here
