Today we’re diving into a topic that’s sometimes tricky to navigate as parents: consent. My guest for this conversation is educator and consent expert Sarah Casper, founder of Comprehensive Consent and author of The Kids and Consent Curriculum. Sarah has taught thousands of children, teens, and adults how to build healthy, respectful, and joyful relationships through a social-emotional lens. Her approach is as thoughtful as it is practical.

In this conversation, Sarah and I explored how consent starts early, with the little, everyday interactions that help kids understand their boundaries, express their wants and needs, and learn to respect others wants and needs. We talked about the challenges of balancing safety with autonomy, especially when it comes to things like hygiene, personal space, and social expectations, and why this balance is nuanced when parenting neurodivergent children. Sarah also shared some real-world strategies for introducing consent language at home, navigating pushback, and supporting kids in building self-awareness and self-esteem.

If you’ve ever wondered how to model boundaries while still honoring your child’s agency, I know you will find this episode valuable. And hopefully you’ll feel inspired to do the activity Sarah shared at the end of the episode with your family because it’s a great way to evaluate how choices are being made at home and it will help you understand each other a little better. 

About Sarah Casper

Sarah Casper is an educator, author of The Kids and Consent Curriculum, and the founder of Comprehensive Consent, a social-emotional learning approach to equipping young people with the knowledge and skills necessary for healthy, respectful, and joyful relationships. Through her in-school workshops, online classes, and social media content, Sarah has helped thousands of kids, adolescents, and adults deepen their consent practices.

 Things you'll learn from this episode

• Consent begins in childhood through small, everyday practices that honor bodily autonomy, encourage agency, and invite mutual respect

• Teaching consent means offering choices, being honest about our intentions, and recognizing when to pivot based on our child’s cues

• Healthy relationships are rooted in collaboration, not control, and thrive when power dynamics are acknowledged

• Navigating consent with kids involves balancing their safety with their right to say no, especially in situations involving hygiene, touch, or personal space

• Supporting a child’s self-regulation and practicing our own helps reduce resentment, foster trust, and model respectful boundary-setting

• Neurodivergent kids may need extra support in understanding and expressing consent, which makes child-led play and behavior-based communication all the more important

 Resources mentioned

• Comprehensive Consent (Sarah’s website)

• The Kids & Consent Curriculum: 25 Whole-Classroom Lessons to Teach Boundaries, Collaboration, and Respect by Sarah Casper

• Betty Martin’s Wheel of Consent

• Unmasking for Life: The Autistic Person’s Guide to Connecting, Loving, and Living Authentically by Dr. Devon Price

• Dr. Devon Price on the Autistic Person’s Guide to Unmasking for Life (Tilt Parenting Podcast)

• Akilah Richards on Raising Free People (Tilt Parenting Podcast)

• The Self-Driven Child: The Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson

• 10 to 25: The Science of Motivating Young People: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation―And Making Your Own Life Easier by Dr. David Yeager

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