# Any evidence that teaching kids about healthy boundaries and consent to physical contact reduces abuse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-evidence-that-teaching-kids-about-healthy-boundaries-and-consent-to-physical-contact-reduces-abuse/977225 "2022-12-28T16:41:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2022, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-evidence-that-teaching-kids-about-healthy-boundaries-and-consent-to-physical-contact-reduces-abuse/977225/1 "2022-12-28T16:41:34Z")
There is a trend in contemporary parenting which recommends that parents teach their kids about bodily autonomy and consent to contact. One way this manifests is that parents should help their kids establish and maintain boundaries about physical contact by being allowed to tell people, like aunts, uncles, and grandparents, that they do not want hugs or kisses. Their parents are naturally supposed to help them maintain these barriers. The idea is that if they learn about consent and bodily autonomy early, they will be more likely to maintain those boundaries later and so will be less likely to be sexually manipulated or abused. There are lots of articles about it but I’m thinking about it now because of this [advice column on Slate](https://slate.com/human-interest/2022/12/manipulative-hugs-autonomy-care-and-feeding.html). I’m wondering if this works. “Experts” get quoted about the strategy and imply they believe it leads to better outcomes but psychology and sociology research is a real mixed bag with lots of unreliable studies treated as definitive. Worse yet, in the absence of data, it seems some people pretend their ideas or personal experience are data. I can’t tell where the research is on this parenting strategy. Is there any scientific or sociological evidence that this parenting strategy reduces rates of sexual abuse? Leads to earlier discovery of sexual abuse? Leads to better adult relationships? Reduces depression among older kids? Strengthens kids’ relationships? Has any positive effects? This is FQ. This is not a thread for your guesses about whether it works or is beneficial. I would like citations to studies supported by some science that this works (or doesn’t). Thanks! --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-evidence-that-teaching-kids-about-healthy-boundaries-and-consent-to-physical-contact-reduces-abuse/977225)._