Parents – Expect Respect

Tips for talking to your kids about dating violence

Getting Started

The best time to talk about unhealthy relationships is before they start. But how do you get started?
Before the conversation, first figure out the values and messages you want your child to have about dating and friendships.
Having your own answers to these questions will help you talk with your child about healthy relationships.

1 in 4 teens reports verbal, physical,
emotional or sexual abuse each year₁
_{1 American Journal of Preventative Medicine 1996;12(2) : 39-47}

Parents are the Key to Prevention

As a parent, you are in a special position to teach your child about relationships with others. Your child
will learn as much from your words as from your actions, so take every opportunity to be a role model and
show your child what it means to respect himself/herself and others. Keep the lines of communication open
and let your child know that he/she can come to you to talk through tough situations.

For more information, visit www.chooserespect.org

How to Recognize the Warning Signs

In unhealthy relationships, the partner who are being abused may:

Give up hobbies and other activities that they once enjoyed.
Worry all the time about making their partners angry or jealous.
Withdraw from friends and family.
Spend too much of their free time with their dating partner.

The abusive partner in these unhealthy relationships may:

Insult their partners in public.
Try to control how their partners dress and act.
Check in on their partners over and over again.
Lose their temper and seem unable to control their anger.
Threaten to do something drastic (such as commit suicide) if their partners ever try to break up with them.

Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships

People in healthy relationships respect each other. They can talk honestly and freely to each other and share decisions. They trust and support each other and respect each other’s independence. In contrast, an unhealthy relationship is unbalanced. One person may try to control or manipulate another to get his/her way.