10 Ways To Help Your Child/Teen Practice Consent:

???It is quite normal for the Egyptian culture and other cultures such as the Italian culture to engage in physical touch to express feelings and love. For example, kissing others two kisses on the cheeks whilst saying hello. Further examples include people walking arm to arm, or having a child sit on one’s lap and so forth.

????It is crucial for us as parents and educators to teach our children about consent, to help them avoid harm. How can we do this?

?-??????Ask your child if they would like to give their Grandma or another family member a hug, e.g. “Would you like to give Grandma a hug?”?“This is your body, so you have the right to decide who can hug/kiss you and when”. It is the child’s right to say no, so we need to respect their wishes. Let Grandma know that this is not personal. Furthermore, sitting on Santa's lap during Christmas bazars is highly discouraged. Your child can always take a picture with Santa while standing by his side.

-??????Teach your child about the importance of saying NO and the importance of their personal space.

?-??????Tell your child that it is okay for their friend to say no to a hug. Tell them to ask their friend first e.g. "Can I give you a hug?". Ask your child to respect their friend’s wishes if they said no.

?-???? Encourage your child not to keep secrets. Encourage open communication. E.g. “We all share with each other”.

-??????Encourage your child to speak to you about their ‘weird feelings’ towards a certain person. We have heard many horror stories about family members engaging in sexual assault- sorry!

-??????Tell your child that it could be okay in some instances for people to touch you such as a doctor or a nurse. Attend the check at the doctor's. E.g. “I will be there with you at the doctor’s”.

-??????Teach your child to button, unbutton their trousers or buy them trousers without buttons. It is not encouraged for a nanny or adult at school to help your child with this.

-??????Although some people view changing your clothes in front of your children as normal and that it could give positive messages about the human body, I tend to personally disagree as modeling behaviour is very strong and boundaries may become unclear for your child.

-??????Use scientific names for body parts such as vagina, breast, penis, testicles and so forth. Tell your child that these organs are for no one to see and this is why we call them ‘private parts’. Using nicknames such as “peepee” and so forth could give a negative message about the human body and could make the child understand that their body parts are something to be ashamed of. Encourage your child to inform you immediately if someone asked to touch/see their privates.

?-??????Discourage your child/teen from taking inappropriate pictures of themselves. Phones can be easily hacked nowadays. Monitor what kind of celebrities do your children follow on social media as children imitate people they value. Most social media platforms should be used by age 13 or over.

Last but not least, I forgot to mention that hugging and kissing are not encouraged at the moment to control the spread of the Coronavirus.

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