Children and Teenagers: Sexual Behaviour — What’s Normal and What’s Not

About this episode

This episode discusses the complexities of children's and teenagers' sexual behavior with Dr. Jennifer Allotey, focusing on what is considered normal and when intervention is necessary.

When it comes to children and teenagers, their behaviour around bodies, boundaries, and sexuality can be complex — and often misunderstood. - What’s normal curiosity? - What’s problematic? - And where does it cross into being harmful or even violent? In this episode, I sit down with Dr Jennifer Allotey, forensic psychologist and social worker, to unpack these difficult questions. We discuss: - The Hackett Continuum: a framework used in schools and safeguarding to assess behaviour. - Why some behaviours should be seen as developmentally expected, while others require intervention. - The role of consent, power, and context in understanding young people’s actions. - The influence of the internet and technology on today’s behaviour. - How schools, parents, and communities can respond without overreacting or labelling young people unfairly. This is a vital conversation for anyone who cares about safeguarding, prevention, and helping young people navigate healthy development. Resources mentioned in the podcast are below. Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse - https://www.csacentre.org.uk The AIM Project - https://aimproject.org.uk Shore - https://shorespace.org.uk Dr Jennifer…

People in this episode

Host: Jeremy Indika

Guest: Dr Jennifer Allotey

Topics covered

• children's sexual behavior
• teenagers
• safeguarding
• developmental expectations
• consent
• internet influence

Keywords

• sexual behavior
• children
• teenagers
• safeguarding
• development
• consent
• internet influence

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse, The AIM Project, Shore, Polaris Associates

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