1 in 3 teens will experience physical, sexual, or emotional abuse by someone they are in a relationship with before they become adults.

Having conversations now can help young people in your life identify red flags when it’s time to start dating. Share and model what a healthy relationship looks like – talk about respect, equality, safety, and trust.

Make sure they know dating abuse is not just physical. Dating abuse is a pattern of behaviors used to gain or maintain power and control over a partner. Read about the different types of abuse. 

love is respect

A project of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, love is respect offers lots of good resources.

The Parent Discussion Guide includes conversation starters about healthy relationships, including the essential elements of respect, communication, trust, boundaries, honesty, and equality.

This online quiz can help a young person in your life answer the question, “Is your relationship healthy?” And teens and tweens can text “love is” to 22522 to check in with a peer advocate about their relationship. 

How about you?

We want to be good role models. That can sometimes mean un-learning behaviors that helped us cope and survive. Taking a close look at our own behavior can help our children see and understand healthier strategies. Parenthood offers a constant reminder that we are still growing and changing, too.