Consent can feel like a very serious concept, but it’s something everyone should understand and be confident in both giving and respecting for others.
Think about how you want your child to understand their rights as they grow up
We want them to be confident to say no to things that make them uncomfortable, and to expect to have a say about their bodies and their choices.
We also want them to grow up to respect other people’s right to give or withhold consent, even when it is hard for the asker to accept that someone has said no.
For our littlest children, this learning starts small
Your baby won’t yet be able to fully understand choices, much less the concept of consent as a whole. You can, however, start with small ways of showing them what happens when their feelings or needs are respected.
Simple things like accepting their cues that they are full, or stopping a game when they turn away, show your baby that they have the power to stop things they don’t like, and that other people should respect that.
These experiences, over time, will mean they have healthy expectations of others as they get older and start to socialise more. It will also mean they know how to treat their friends’ choices.
The impact of this can be as simple as respecting another child’s choice to say no to a certain game, or understanding when to give someone personal space.
Of course, young children are still learning to manage their impulses and won’t always get this right or be able to hold back their instinctive reaction.
This is why it is so important for them to see adults respecting consent, so they have a clear understanding of what we are asking of them, even though sometimes it will be hard.