When 65% of teens experience some level of abuse with their dating partner, but only 37% of parents are aware that teen dating violence is an issue – we have a troubling reverse statistic. Last week I facilitated a middle school Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships workshop for a group of 8th graders accompanied by a parent. Both the students and their parents shared thoughts on what they saw as healthy and toxic behaviors. There were also questions from both parents and students to learn more about the ideas shared.

It’s certainly a hard topic to talk about, yet with only 1 in 3 abused dating teens telling someone about it, we all need to spread awareness. Knowledge is both Power & Prevention. With 19% of dating teens experiencing physical and sexual violence – What would you give to educate and protect the teens and young adults that you know? Would you give your time? Are you willing to start the hard conversations early? Do you know where to start? Reach out to me, I can help.

The power of last week’s session came from the questions that both the students and parents asked. They weren’t all easy questions, and each question showed that the people cared about learning more. Their engagement made the difficulty of sharing my own story worth every moment!