By Megan Osborne, HCWC Prevention Educator
In the wake of the #metoo movement, many parents, teachers and caregivers want to know what we should be teaching young people. As an educator and mother, I get questions like “what age should these conversations start?” and, more often, “what should these discussions look like?” Teaching consent and boundaries is simpler than we think. However, it needs to begin as young as possible and be ongoing throughout a person’s life.
At a very early age parents begin pointing and teaching children the names of their body parts: ears, eyes, nose, foot, etc. However, we skip private parts, give them nicknames, or whisper them like a secret. Teaching children the anatomically correct names of their private parts is essential. The penis and vagina are just as important to know as hands and toes.
