Mom uses a clever 'tea analogy' to educate her teenage son about the importance of consent

Every parent should take the initiative to teach their kids about consent and how to stay safe from people with ill intentions. It is important to give youngsters the necessary education about sexual relationships and teach them when to say no to uncomfortable approaches from strangers. Mel Moon, a comedian and mom who goes by @mel.moon.comedian on TikTok, shared a fun and insightful video where she can be seen educating her son about the importance of consent. The video struck a chord with her audience and has amassed over one million views in a short time. 

Knowing that having such conversations with her 14-year-old son could get awkward, Moon decided to take a humorous approach to get her message across. "So, as the parent of a 14-year-old boy, sometimes you've got to have conversations that you really don't wanna," Moon says at the beginning of her video. "But it's important, you know, conversations like the birds and the bees, for example. Or how to behave when you're out in public so you don't embarrass your mum. Well, today we're gonna be talking about consent, okay? And I'm gonna use my take on the famous tea analogy to get my point across in a light-hearted but informative way."

The "famous tea analogy" that Moon referred to was popularized by a YouTube creator's video on the Blue Seat Studios channel. Next, Moon knocks and enters her teenage son's room to chat about this important topic. “Now, listen today, we're going to be talking about something very serious, okay, we're going to be talking about consent,” she tells him. “Do you want a cup of tea before we get started?” Her son refuses to have a cup of her tea but Moon continues to try and convince him. “Are you sure, just the smallest cup of tea?” she pushes. “I make a really good cup of tea. It'll be the best you've ever had." Moon continues to offer him some tea and tells her teen that she already has some boiled in the kettle, and she is worried that the kettle might burst if he doesn't have the tea.

“You don't have to do anything, you know, I'll make the tea. You can lie there. I'll just pour it down your throat,” Moon mentions. “How weird is that!” her son responds. When she doesn't stop insisting, her son shouts at her to just bring the tea, but he refuses to drink it when it arrives. “So I've gone to the trouble of making the tea, and now that it's here, you don't want it,” Moon complains. “Why are you being so weird about tea?” her son yells back. When she asks her son if he is uncomfortable and he admits that he is, she mentions, "That is consent, my boy. If she says no, she doesn't want to do it, and if you constantly try and convince her, even when she eventually says yes, because she's so sick of your moaning, she still doesn't want to do it. And that is non-consensual.”

People who came across this video applauded Moon for her lighthearted method of sparking discussion on a serious topic. @salt.architect wrote, "Obviously I get the point, and it's brilliant. But it also made me realize how very often as a kid I only did things because I was badgered into 'consenting' to eat/drink/do something I didn't want to." @nonococomelon commented, "I’m 100% all for consent. Unfortunately, my problem is that if I don’t badger my 4-year-old into eating her actual dinner, she would quickly perish from malnutrition or sugar overload." @juliesjoys shared, "That was the best way I've seen to teach the concept of consent. I will be using this one." @kc_layne added, "Even the ending is a lesson! If they don't want my tea, I'll drink it myself!"

You can follow Mel Moon (@mel.moon.comedian) on TikTok for more videos on comedy and lifestyle.