Healthy Relationships

Do you know what a healthy relationship looks like?  For a lot of teens, the relationships you see within your own families may include divorces that weren't particularly friendly, the relationships you see among your peers can be filled with as many jealous arguments as happy days, and the relationships you see on TV or through social media is only filled with part of the story.  There are so many times when I have talked with students and they shared reflections about different relationships which have left me thinking, "That's not love."  Because there are a lot of things that love isn't, but it's hard when you're in the midst of a relationship to be able to recognize if your interactions are healthy.

There are lots of reasons why it's hard to identify when you're in the midst of a relationship if it is healthy or not.  In large part, the flood of positive hormones and neurotransmitters make the relationship appealing even when it isn't healthy.  So, what are you supposed to do?  At times, you can trust yourself if you are able to step back and think, "if my friend was going through these same experiences what would I say to him/ her?"  Often times, being able to get feedback from your friends, your family or other trusted adults can be helpful because they are not in the relationship and so they can typically give you honest feedback.  Another aspect that you can watch for is any time you notice that you are talking about your significant other and telling stories about them and that you are trying to make the situation or the story seem better than it really was.  If you feel the need to embellish how good the relationship is it may be a sign that something isn't what it should actually be and that the relationship isn't as good as you deserve.

If you are interested in learning more about healthy relationships as well as teen dating violence to protect yourself or your friends, check out the website, loveisrespect.org which has tons of great information and resources.

For parents, Worthington Schools is joining with other districts throughout central Ohio to partner with OhioHealth SARNCO (Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio) to provide a Webinar Series on Your Child and Healthy Relationships.  This 6 week online series is for parents exploring critical aspects of relationships, offering guidance from experts on how to support and discuss complex but essential relationship topics with your child.  Examples of topics that will be addressed include: Healthy Boundaries, Consent, Social Media & Online Relationships, Healthy Masculinity, Teen Dating, and Bystander Intervention.

The series begins tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 9th and will be from 7-8pm on Wednesdays.  Additional nights include: March 23, April 6, April 20, May 4, and May 25

Here is a link to the handout which includes the link to join the online series.