{"id":54941,"date":"2025-04-02T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T19:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/?p=54941"},"modified":"2025-04-10T12:46:58","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T19:46:58","slug":"talking-to-teens-about-healthy-relationships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/news\/talking-to-teens-about-healthy-relationships\/","title":{"rendered":"Healthy Relationships 101: Start a Conversation With Your Teen"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article\">\n\t<header class=\"header\">\n\t\t<span class=\"type\"><\/span>\t\t<h1>Healthy Relationships 101: Start a Conversation With Your Teen<\/h1>\t\t<time>April 2, 2025<\/time>\n\t<\/header>\n\t<div id=\"block_5828bd209a904b9b5826d3d7a58af79a\" class=\"shs-block block-news-article entry-content\">\n\t\t<div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-understand-consent-amp-respect\">Understand Consent &amp; Respect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Teens should know that consent and respect in relationships are crucial to building healthy connections. Consent means agreeing to something willingly and freely. It\u2019s not just about saying \u201cyes.\u201d It\u2019s also about ensuring the teen\u2019s partner feels comfortable and respected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cConsent is ongoing and can be withdrawn at any time,\u201d said Shelli Dalton, SANE RN at <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/sarahs-place\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Samaritan Albany General Hospital \u2013 Sarah\u2019s Place<\/a>. \u201cCoercion is the practice of persuading someone to do something. This means consent does not exist if pressure or coercion are used to gain it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Teach your teen to identify, communicate and respect other people\u2019s boundaries, as everyone has different comfort levels. Both partners should feel equally valued and heard \u2014 they should listen to each other, value each other\u2019s opinions and make decisions together. Empower your teen to trust their instincts; if something doesn\u2019t feel right, it\u2019s OK to say no, step away, or talk to a trusted adult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Encourage open dialogue with your teen and provide them with resources. They may have questions or misconceptions about relationships and it\u2019s important to create a safe space where they feel comfortable asking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s good to remember to be a role model for respectful, healthy relationships in your own life,\u201d said Dalton. \u201cDemonstrating good communication, empathy and respect in your interactions is key.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-recognize-unhealthy-or-controlling-behavior\">Recognize Unhealthy or Controlling Behavior<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Emily Jaskoski, SANE RN at Sarah\u2019s Place says it\u2019s never too early to talk to your child or grandchild about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Often there are subtle early warning signs that they may not recognize as problematic. Some examples of unhealthy relationship behaviors include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Checking their phone, email or social media without permission.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Putting them down, especially in front of others.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Isolating them from friends or family.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Extreme jealousy or insecurity.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Explosive outbursts, temper, or mood swings.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any form of physical harm.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Possessiveness or controlling behavior.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnhealthy relationships are centered around power and control, and the abuse can escalate with serious consequences,\u201d Jaskoski said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to have open conversations to help them recognize these early warning signs. Start by listening without judgment and avoid lecturing. Be mindful of your timing and let them guide the discussion. Respect their privacy and don\u2019t force them to open up. If they aren\u2019t ready to talk, don\u2019t give up \u2014 try again another time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By fostering open communication and providing guidance, you can help your teen navigate relationships with confidence and awareness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sarah\u2019s Place is the first sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) center in Oregon. It offers free medical services for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and non-fatal strangulation. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/find-a-location\/sarahs-place\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">samhealth.org\/SarahsPlace<\/a><\/em> to learn more.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<aside>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dad-Teen-Talking-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta wp-post-image\" alt=\"A dad side hugs his daughter as they both look and smile at each other.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dad-Teen-Talking-CO.jpg 360w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dad-Teen-Talking-CO-300x250.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Dad-Teen-Talking-CO-120x100.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/figure><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"360\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/nurse-supporting-female-patient-CO.jpg\" class=\"attachment-cta size-cta\" alt=\"smiling nurse placing a supportive hand on the shoulder of a young woman\" \/><figcaption>A \u201cSANE nurse,\u201d or Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, is a nurse with extensive training and certification to provide medical and emotional support to survivors of sexual assault, abuse or neglect.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t\t<\/aside>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Samaritan Albany General Hospital &#8211; Sarah&#8217;s Place staff share the importance of talking to teens about healthy relationships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":54926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_shs_workflow_notes":"","_shs_exclude_from_navigation":false,"_shs_promote_article_on_blogs":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"news-topics":[],"news-types":[272],"services":[],"specialty":[],"class_list":["post-54941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","news-types-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54941"},{"taxonomy":"news-topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topics?post=54941"},{"taxonomy":"news-types","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-types?post=54941"},{"taxonomy":"services","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/services?post=54941"},{"taxonomy":"specialty","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samhealth.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/specialty?post=54941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}