28 Days, 28 Tips: Day 17

February is National Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month.
In order to shine light on dating abuse, I’m posting 28 Tips for 28 Days. Stop by each day this month and discover stats that may shock you. Tips that can help you. Links that can save a life.
Knowledge and understanding are our best weapons in fighting what has become a silent epidemic among teens!

Day 17, Tip 17:

If you thought your teen was safe from relationship abuse, you’re not alone. It’s a common myth that this is one of those things that happen to other kids. But here’s something you should know:

96 percent of teens report that they’ve experienced emotional abuse.

96 percent! That means if it hasn’t touched your child there’s a good chance it’s touched one of their friends.

Relationship abuse doesn’t just mean physical abuse. It can be emotional or psychological. That’s when an abuser works to control their partner through manipulation or fear. It can even sound like love to your teen:

If you loved me you would _____

If you trusted me the way I trust you, you would_____

This type of abuse happens to all kinds of kids. Poor, rich, boys, girls…it happens in cities and suburbs, to good students and bad, to kids in broken homes and kids whose parents know to check for bruises and split lips…but not for emotional abuse.

This issue is too important to make assumptions. Talk to your teen. Check out this parent’s guide to understand the problem and find out what to do. www.ncdsv.org

• Books can make it easier to broach the topic. There are a lot of stories about relationship abuse that can get your teen thinking…questioning. Die for You is just one. I hope it can make a difference in the life of someone you love. 

  

“In this delicate and tense exploration of teenage relationship abuse,
both the slow progression of Dillon’s illness and Emma’s refusal to see the signs until it is nearly too late ring true.” –Kirkus