This short story is perfect for kids aged 5–10 and helps them understand the meaning of consent, respecting others’ boundaries, and how to say “no” with confidence. It’s an engaging tale that sparks important conversations between parents and children. Perfect for bedtime reading or classroom storytime. Scroll down to read the story or listen to the audio version below.
STORY: RESPECTING CONSENT
It was a morning like any other. Anne had gotten ready for school, grabbed her backpack, said goodbye to her mom, and ran toward the school bus. Once she arrived in class, Anne took her seat next to Margaret, her best friend, and together they were listening to their teacher, Miss Susy.
“Children, quiet please,” said Miss Susy. “Today we’re going on a lovely trip. We’re going to the park! Come on, get your backpacks ready.” The children immediately cheered, “Hooray!!!” and quickly did as the teacher told them.As soon as everyone was ready—they were off to the park!
“Children, please be careful and don’t wander off, but most of all HAVE FUN!” said Miss Susy.
Anne and her classmates ran off to play: some on the swings, some playing hide-and-seek, some playing ball, others pretending to be fairies.Anne was playing hide-and-seek with Margaret, Camilla, Tommy, and Gabriel. It was Tommy’s turn to count, so the others had to hide.Anne chose to hide behind a bush. She was sure it was the perfect hiding spot—no one would find her.But after a little while, Gabriel showed up. Anne knew that Gabriel had a crush on her, but she only saw him as a friend.
“Hi Anne, can I hide here with you?” Gabriel asked.
“Sure,” Anne replied. “But be quiet or Tommy will find us.”
“Okay,” said Gabriel.
“Anne… maybe you don’t know, but I really like you,” Gabriel told her.
“I figured,” Anne replied, “but I only see you as a friend.” Gabriel looked very sad but nodded his head.
“Alright… but can I at least give you a hug? Please?” he asked, looking down. Anne agreed again, but as soon as Gabriel moved closer, he tried to give her a kiss on the cheek—something Anne didn’t want.
“Stop it! I said yes to a hug, not to a kiss on the cheek,” Anne said, almost shouting as she moved away from him.
“Please Anne, just one kiss! Then I promise I’ll stop—pinky swear!” said Gabriel, holding out his pinky finger.
“No!” replied Anne.
“Come on, please!” Gabriel insisted.
“I said NO!” shouted Anne as she ran to the teacher.
“Miss Susy! Miss Susy!” she called out, crying.
“Anne, what’s wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?” asked Miss Susy.
“No, G-Gabriel (hic)…tr-tried to g-give me a k-kiss (hic)…on the c-cheek,” Anne managed to say between sobs.
“Okay, sweetheart, take a deep breath and explain calmly what happened,” Miss Susy reassured her.
“Okay. Gabriel tried to kiss me on the cheek even though I said no… and I didn’t like it.”
“I understand,” said Miss Susy, and then she called all the children over.
“Everyone, come here please. There’s something important I need to talk to you about.” Hearing the teacher’s voice, the children left their games and sat down in a circle around her.
“Well, children,” she began, “something just happened that we can all learn from. One of your classmates tried to give another classmate a kiss on the cheek, even though she didn’t want it. You need to know that there’s something called ‘consent.’”
“What does that mean?” one of the children interrupted.
“Consent is when someone says yes or no to something you ask them. For example, if you want to give someone a hug, you should ask them first. If they say yes, then they gave their consent and you can hug them.”
“What if they say no?” asked another child.
“If they say no, that means they didn’t give you consent, and you cannot hug them.”
“But what if I really want to hug them?” asked Margaret.
“Imagine someone wants to touch your hair, but you don’t want them to. Would you like it if they touched your hair anyway?”
“NO!” shouted Margaret.
“If I don’t want it, they can’t do it!” she said.
“Exactly! That’s what I wanted to teach you. Did everyone understand?”
“Yes, Miss Susy,” all the children replied in unison.
“Good. Now… Gabriel, do you understand what you did wrong?”
“Yes,” said the boy.
“Then don’t you think you should apologize to Anne?”
“Yes. I’m sorry, Anne. I promise I won’t do it again.”
“It’s okay, I forgive you,” Anne replied.
“Good. Remember, children: we must always respect what another person wants—whether they say yes or no. And this has nothing to do with gender, religion, or anything else. We must always respect consent.”
Anne now felt safer, because everyone had understood that saying “no” was her right, and that they would all respect it.
If you liked this story, we invite you to check out Storyender powerful values-based stories for kids. Each one helps children understand important life lessons in a gentle, fun, and memorable way.
