I know many of you, like me, have been completely heartbroken by this recent news of the Cornell 7 and the Cornell 57. Pouring through countless articles, I keep coming back to the same questions in my mind. At what point did these boys become young men who could completely disregard the humanity of another? Young men would have no regard for a woman’s body, soul, or mind to the point that they would be willing to so openly objectify and assault her, and encourage others to do the same? What kind of society do we live in that this behavior has been normalized enough that they would openly communicate about this on a text thread with 50 other young men? And then “How in the world do I protect my daughter?” and then “How in the world do I make sure my sons would never be one of the these 7 men or the 50 others who chose to remain silent in the face of such open abuse?” The refrain of “My child would never do something like this” seems not enough.
After the initial period of shock and grief, the next question was: “How can I be part of the solution here?” My first thought, of course, was to talk to my dear friend, puberty and sex educator and body literacy specialist, Konika Wong. After a short talk we decided we needed to record a new Parenting Matters podcast episode on how to teach our youngest about consent.
After recording the episode we decided to partner on her new class called “I’m the Boss of My Body,” which will be held Saturday, October 24 from 3-4pm in her magical backyard treehouse classroom. The class is available for boys and girls ages 3-7 and their moms, dads or caregivers!
This might be the most important thing we can all do to be a part of raising this next generation to think, act and speak up differently.
Please listen and share this episode widely and sign up for this new class today!
Episode 17: Teaching Consent to Our Youngest Children in Light of the Cornell 7 with guest host Konika Wong
Listen now on Apple or Spotify.
Transcript
In this episode, we explore how parents can introduce consent and body literacy to young children, emphasizing the importance of early conversations, empathy, and respecting boundaries to empower the next generation.
Key Topics:
Introducing consent to young children through books and conversations
The importance of naming body parts and teaching personal space
How to respond when your child says “I’m the boss of my body when it’s time for the bath!”
Handling micro-aggressions and teaching empathy
Encouraging children to trust their intuition and feelings
The role of parents and caregivers in modeling respect and boundaries
Teaching children to be upstanders and speak up for others
Teaching children to respect your boundaries so they learn to respect the boundaries of others