Since we are talking about Teen Dating Violence, (see our previous blog post) let’s talk about healthy relationships as well.

Healthy relationships require:

• Safety
• ​​​​​​​Respect
• Freedom
• Open communication
• Trust

To have a healthy relationship, there are four important ways of thinking:

1. You and your partner can have different opinions
   Some problems require compromise but other times, you can have different opinions. It is important to have open communication and to respect each other.
2.  Support each other to find their own happiness
   While there are some stereotypes about what "happiness" is in our society, we deserve to pursue happiness in our own way. You and your partner may have different ideas of happiness, different things make you happy. It is unnecessary to force your own standards onto your partner.
3. Break down your stereotype of gender norms
   If you have a specific idea of how they should act because of their gender, it can be controlling to force that.
4. Love yourself as you are. You deserved to be loved!

For more information, look at these sites:
LoveIsRespect
That's Not Cool
Dating Matters