One of the most important things we do at the end of every school seminar is provide students with the opportunity to ask anonymous questions.
Sometimes, students will ask intentionally humorous questions in an attempt to make the rest of their peers laugh. Others will ask more challenging, left-of-field questions, eager to see how we’ll respond.
However, the majority of questions we receive collectively reveal the genuine innermost thoughts, desires, worries, curiosities and dreams of young people who are desperate to know more, to learn more, to understand…
What do healthy relationships look like? What does it take to experience truly extraordinary relationships? What can I do to be a positive, healthy influence on those around me?
The truth is, answers to these kinds of questions in the relationship space aren’t lacking.
In fact, they’re everywhere.
All it takes is one Google search, one insta post, one tweet, one trending TikTok and a teenager will potentially stumble across some kind of solution, answer or opinion that might satisfy their curiosity for the meantime…
But what’s the problem with this?
Well, the question that we as parents need to ask ourselves is this:
Do we want our teens seeking answers on relationships from a hyper-sexualised, porn-filled society that values self-gratification beyond respect? Where sex is purely physical and values like empathy, commitment and trust so often lie dormant?
Young people deserve to have their questions answered with intention, clarity, with care.
Beyond this, they deserve to have their questions answered by people in their world whose utmost priority is equipping them to have the brightest future possible; to truly flourish in their relationships. The kinds of questions that teens all over the country are asking can’t be found from one Google search or one nice quote they find scrolling through their Insta feed.
No, the kind of answers they need and deserve come from you, the parent. Answers that can be unpacked through conversation, delivered with kindness and empathy and directly tailored to your child.
We as parents mustn’t shy away from these important conversations with our kids but instead, be empowered by the reality that we are the best person to have them.
