How to Make the Children Aware about Consent?

If you have raised children in a big family, it may mean that children will get to meet all kinds of people and family gatherings will test their social skills. For instance, the ability to differentiate between people and ability to say no to them is necessary to not only helpful to survive with multiple people or in the family events but in the world as well. For instance, ride on the cars may be the fun part but if you are not able to say no to your cousins, you may not get to enjoy your ride on the car. To put simply, if the children are lucky to interact with the relatives, they can get many opportunities to learn from them in addition to learning about them. For instance, if the child already knows how to politely say no to others, it will make them strong and help them to live according to their way.

The cousins may insist on playing but if your child does not want to, nobody should be able to force him/her. Similarly, the more children interact with others; they will have to make crucial choices in terms of saying or no to things. However, if you have imparted the children with the sense to differentiate between the need and want, it can help them to make right choices. This is not to say that children are not supposed to get along with people or cousins, but if it is something the child may not be interested in for various reasons, the child should be able to express the thoughts without offending anyone or sounding arrogant.

The reason behind teaching the kids to respect others right to say no to them has to do with you as the parent and the relatives. For instance, if you tell the child that you cannot play with him/her or that you may not be able to spend time with the child, the child can react to it negatively or positively. The positive reaction will consider your reason and make it easy for you to parent children. However, if the child has no concept of saying no or exercising one’s will power, parenting will become difficult for you. The same logic can be applied in other two cases mentioned in the beginning of the paragraph.

Take another case, for instance, if the child is interested in hearing bedtime stories and if you have work in the morning, you will have to say no to the child when he/she request you to stay up late. This means that if the child is familiar with the concept of no and understands why it is necessary, it can strengthen your relationship in addition to improving the understanding.

According to one of the research study, if you want the child to have good self-awareness or if you want them to lead a fulfilling and productive life, it is best to teach them the value of consent and it will reflect in their life choices. For instance, the relationship of the child in the childhood and adult life are likely to be healthier.

Parents also expect the children to respect their consent for things and if the child refuses to do so, it can make you feel suffocated or down. Therefore, the value of consent is not only important for the child, but it can make parenting easy for the adults. The idea is to create mutual understanding and bond that can withstand the test of time and mood swings. For instance, if the children feel distant from the parents or you are not able to communicate the concerns, you can curb the family fights. Therefore, following tips will help you in this domain.

Respect the Rights

Although parents are expected to introduce the child to the concept of rights, however, if the child keeps violating them or shows little regard for them, you may not be able to achieve the parental goals. The reason has to do with the respect for each other’s right to consent or say no. for instance, if the children push you to compromise on the work, it may cost you and the family more. Hence, the right to consent can help to save you from the trouble of having to explain why you cannot play with the children.

Asking First

You should ask the child if they want to go out rather than assuming that they always do. Similarly, the child should do the same with you; it helps to give space to each other in addition to reducing the chances of misunderstanding or differences. Similarly, the sense of care and good precedents can be set for the younger siblings in the house.

Role of others in respecting the Choice of Children

Of course, all the family members should be educated when it comes to respecting each other and underlining why consent is important, however, if you do not do the same with the outsiders, it may make it hard for your child to exercise his/her right to say no or choices. Therefore, the advocacy of consent and how it helps the children should be done outside the home.

Paying Attention to Others

If you limit the value of consent to your home, the end goal cannot be achieved, it is, therefore, necessary to pay attention to others when they exercise the rights or consent and choices. Similarly, it will help you to get ideas of doing the same thing in a polite manner or without hurting others.

Finding new Friends

If you think that the child is having a hard time in terms of making people familiar with the idea of consent, you can teach the kids the skills of making new friends. The main purpose is to make the life of children easy; however, if it is making the child stressed or compromise on the core values, the child should change the circle of friends.

Model Consent

All children may not warm up to the ideas of consent like you are expecting them to, for instance, if the child is not following the guideline to exercise the right or showing respect for your right to consent, you can act as the model for the child. The main purpose is to persuade the children of the benefits of respecting the right to consent.