This month from the Kid Clinic: Tips to help your child set healthy boundaries in relationships

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. No parent wants to see their child in an abusive relationship. Though this happens all too often, adolescents are secretive and inappropriate relationships may fly under the radar.

According to Loveisrespect.org, a subset of the National Domestic Abuse Hotline, “One in three adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional, or verbal abuse from a dating partner, a figure that far exceeds rates of other types of youth violence.”

Here are some tips to help your child set healthy boundaries to avoid such situations:

• Saying “no” without guilt
• Asking for what you want or need
• Taking care of yourself
• Saying “yes” because you want to, not out of obligation or to please others
• Behaving according to your own values and beliefs
• Feeling safe to express difficult emotions and have disagreements
• Feeling supported to pursue your own goals
• Being treated as an equal
• Taking responsibility for your own happiness and not feeling responsible for some else’s happiness
• Being in tune with your own feelings
• Knowing who you are, what you believe, and what you like

Establishing healthy boundaries helps relationships stay healthy. If somebody is not accepting of boundaries set this is a warning sign for unhealthy relationships.

Lexie Hoffmann, PCSW, is a counselor at the Campbell County Medical Group Kid Clinic, a school-based pediatric clinic offering medical care and counseling services for Campbell County students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade and their siblings ages 2 weeks and up. It is located at 800 Butler Spaeth Rd., across from St. Matthew’s Catholic Church. The Kid Clinic is open Monday-Friday from 8 am-5 pm. For more information, call 307-688-8700 or visit www.cchwyo.org/kidclinic. The Kid Clinic is a collaborative effort between Campbell County Health and Campbell County School District.