In the face of the Ray Rice tragedy, many are wondering, how can I protect my children from abusive relationships in the future? What can I do? Here are three suggestions:

1. Be a role model for healthy adult relationships. Children learn how to be in relationships by watching us.

2. Have a healthy relationship with your child. Avoid the behaviors depicted in the wheel below. We often unwittingly teach our children that this is the way they should be treated in the name of discipline.

3. Teach all pre-teens, male and female, the Violence Wheel prior to dating and revisit it periodically throughout their dating lives. A picture of it, is depicted below.