Teen Dating 101

Culture of Safety launched Dating 101 in February 2024.  This series is for teens ages 12 and up.  This course covers dating safety, sex ed, and empowerment skills all young teens need to know.

Sorry you missed it?  Send us an inquiry using the form below and we’ll add you to our list for the next series!

 

Graphic for upcoming Teen Dating 101 Series

This 7-week series includes

  • communication skill development
  • physical self-defense skill development
  • information and resources about sexual health and sexual decision-making

Blending skills taught in our Teen Empowerment Self-Defense workshops with material from the Our Whole Lives curriculum, this 7-week series is designed to support young teens as they prepare for the exciting world of dating, helping them both to build their own healthy, assertive communication skills, and to teach them to expect to be treated with respect and dignity by their dating partners.  In addition to communication skills, Dating 101 will also teach practical physical self-defense techniques to give participants confidence that they can escape a bad situation should they ever need to do so.  And finally, Dating 101 will give young teens age-appropriate information about sex, including anatomy and physiology, options for physical intimacy that do not include sexual intercourse, and ways to protect their sexual and reproductive health once they choose to become sexually active.

We look forward to preparing young teens to start dating with the confidence borne of both solid information and ample practice of the skills that we all need to enjoy healthy and fulfilling relationships.

This introduction to the world of dating and intimate relationships will be taught from the body-positive, trans-positive, trauma-informed lens that guides all of Culture of Safety’s programming.

For information on the curriculum, check out the Series Overview

Is this a Sex Ed course?

In part, yes. It is also a self-defense course and an empowerment course.  The sex ed curriculum is from Our Whole Lives, a progressive, secular curriculum developed through a partnership between the Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ denominations.  The self-defense and empowerment curriculum aligns with best practices for Empowerment Self-Defense.

Talking about dating safety, sex ed, and everything that comes with it can feel overwhelming for parents and caregivers (not to mention awkward!).  Yet it’s one of the most important ways to keep young teens safe as they begin to explore their independence and start to consider peer relationships beyond friendships.  At Culture of Safety Dojo & Wellness Center, we are committed to helping young people navigate these exciting, occasionally frightening, often overwhelming relationships with knowledge and confidence.  Parents and caregivers may worry that telling young people about sex can make them more likely to try it, however research indicates that comprehensive sexuality education has the opposite effect:  young people who have received this kind of information are actually more likely to postpone sexual activity.

Why is Culture of Safety teaching Dating 101?

Culture of Safety seeks to create a community space where members are safe, strong, and self-confident, and thus able to pursue personal growth towards a more fulfilling life, however they define it.  Dating is one of the most exciting milestones for teens, and one of the things that most worries parents.  Culture of Safety wants to support the families in our community as they embrace this challenge.

Questions?

For more information, send us a message: