Episode Details

Mothers often ask, “How can I help my daughter avoid teenage abuse?” Lucy is on the BTR.ORG podcast, sharing her insights as a 19-year-old, new in the dating world, with helpful insights for mothers. In this interview, she shares her list of “red flags” that she made with the help of her mother. You can help your child avoid teenage abuse in relationships by having regular discussions about what red flags she can look out for in potential dating partners.

Some “Red Flags” you may want to discuss with your teen include:

• Coercion, including coercion, that can include guilting, sulking, shaming, and subtly conditioning victims to participate in sexual activities.
• Manipulation, lying, and gaslighting.
• A preoccupation with their phone.
• Any degree of violence, including harming objects or animals.

How to Help Abused Teens

Teens may find it easier to engage in healthy relationships and avoid teenage abuse when adults encourage them to focus on their own goals. Rather than spending time and energy seeking out dating opportunities, teens can use that time and energy to learn healthy habits and behaviors and develop a strong sense of self.

Your teenager needs help identifying the abuse, have them take our free emotional abuse test. This quiz will also teach them the 19 different types of emotional abuse. Teens, like all victims of abuse, deserve to be validated, not blamed. Parents can help teen victims by:

• Developing a safety plan to make sure that the abuser no longer has access to them.
• Validating the victim’s experience.
• Reassuring the victim that they’re not at fault.
• Allowing the victim to talk openly about their experience, without judgement or blame.

If you as their mother need support for your abusive relationship, there’s a place you can go to talk. Attend a Betrayal Trauma Recovery Group Session TODAY.

Transcript: How To Help Your Daughter Avoid Teenage Abuse

Anne: Lucy is on today’s episode. She is 19 years old. So Lucy’s mom is interested in betrayal trauma stuff and has been talking to her about this. And because Lucy is 19 and dating, she’s been thinking about teenage abuse, and teen dating violence in relation to her mother. We don’t often have 19 year old women on the podcast.

But we do have a lot of women who are in relationships that are

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