Use These Simple Videos To Teach Your Kids About Consent

These age-appropriate videos about consent are great tools for parents and kids

While it seems that we’re all more aware of sexual assault and we’re talking about it more, it still remains a pretty misunderstood concept. That’s why Lifehacker compiled some great, easy-to-follow videos about consent. Best of all, they’re age appropriate.

The first one for preschoolers and elementary age kids shares the message: “This is your body. And you get to decide what you do with your body.” The video done by Blue Seat Studios is simple and not explicit in any way.

The next video by Ruby’s Studio is great because it has a cool song. The chorus sings, “I may be young. I may be small. But it’s my body, I’m in charge of it all.”My six-year-old peered over my shoulder the whole time I watched the video. Mid-song my daughter opened up to me about a kid at school who plays too rough with her at recess (we’ll be addressing that first thing tomorrow morning at school).

The next one is aimed more at tweens and teens and is super relatable, which is what makes it so brilliant. It can be so hard to talk to kids that age about matters like this, and actually get through to them. The nonprofit organization AMAZE produced this video that focuses on the basic principles of consent.

It puts a special emphasis on the fact that just because someone consents to one kind of behavior, doesn’t mean they’ve agreed to another. For example, just because I say you can kiss me, doesn’t mean you can grope me. And that we can all change our minds if we’re not feeling it anymore.

Lastly, this video produced by Blue Seat Studios using tea as a metaphor for consent is spot on. It’s simple. It’s kind of snarky (which is probably why it’s my favorite). You can totally use this one for tweens and teens, too.

The truth is this, many people don’t really know what constitutes sexual assault. If you’re thinking right now, how in the world could someone not know what sexual assault is?, here are some sobering statistics from a survey done by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

• Only 56 percent of men and 72 percent of women say “watching someone in a private act without their knowledge or permission” is assault.
• Only 67 percent of men considered “sexual intercourse where one of the partners is pressured to give their consent,” as assault, compared to 79 percent of women.
• Just 48 percent of men identified “unwanted verbal remarks that are provocative or unsolicited” (ie catcalling) as assault. Take note of the gap in awareness between men and women here.

Ultimately, if adults don’t know what assault is, how will our kids know? They won’t. So the time is now. You don’t have to wait for your kids to be sexually active before having this conversation — and these videos provide a great place to start.