This Video Explaining Consent to Children Can Teach Everyone a Thing or 2

"It's really pretty simple," speaks a young voice over a cartoon video explaining consent to children. "Ask for consent, listen to the answer. . . . It's your body. No one else is entitled to tell you what to do with it."

Consent is really pretty simple. Alarmingly simple. You may think your child is too little to have to learn about a concept like consent, but the fact of the matter is, kids should understand from a young age that their body is theirs and that they dictate what is done with it (this means not having to kiss Aunt Marge after the family party if they don't feel comfortable doing so).

The video defines consent in terms easy enough for a child to understand and gives examples of basic situations in which consent is necessary. "Some people love to hug, and some people hate hugs. Each person gets to decide what they're comfortable with. Can a hug-loving person just start hugging someone at random? Nope. They need consent."

Helping your child to grasp this concept from an early age will allow them to be confident in their bodily autonomy and to be a person who always asks and listens for consent from others.