SIX INGREDIENTS TO HEALTHY LOVE

Valentine’s day is approaching and love is in the air! According to Pew Research, “35% of teens are in some form of romantic relationship” (Pew Research, 2019). It’s important to make sure our youth are well-informed on how to have healthy relationships. Like all handcrafted things, healthy love can take time and a good recipe. Show youth how healthy relationships should look with this ingredients list!

THE INGREDIENTS

  • Self-Love – The first step before learning to love someone else is to love yourself. As a caring adult, try encouraging youth to practice positive thinking. It’s important for youth to treat themselves with respect before entering a relationship.

    • Handy Tips: Practice self-love by telling yourself one positive thing about yourself every day. Make it a habit to treat yourself with kindness.
  • Consent – Consent is crucial in any healthy relationship. Make sure youth understand what consent is and the importance of it.

    • Handy Tips: Encourage youth to practice consent at every level of their relationship. Safe Secure Kids defines consent, “Consent means giving someone a choice about touch or actions and respecting their answer” (Safe Secure Kids, 2020). It’s always best to ask than assume.
  • Boundaries – Setting boundaries are important to maintaining a healthy balance in a relationship. It’s important for youth to set boundaries in both friendships and romantic relationships.

    • Handy Tips: A relationship should not dominate every aspect of your life. Make sure there is a balance of school, family, friends, etc.
  • Respect – Teach youth to respect themselves and to respect others. Youth respect themselves by being true to themselves and respect others by obeying boundaries and consent.

    • Handy Tips: Practice self-respect by recognizing red flags in a relationship and checking in with yourself
  • Honesty and Trust – A relationship cannot be healthy without honesty and trust. Both people in a relationship should be transparent with