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Child Behavior (Expert Forum)
Signs of Sexual Abuse
Answered by
Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D. - Child and Adolescent Psychotherapy, Family Therapy, Crisis Intervention
Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates
This forum is for questions and support regarding child behavior issues such: Child Discipline (behavior management), Normal Child Development, Parent-Child Communications, Social Development
Signs of Sexual Abuse
by child advocate, Feb 01, 2005 12:00AM
We have a faily friend that has an 8 yr old son. He has to some extent played the "nasty game" with our 4 yr old. We aren't sure how far the nasty game went either. After reasonable discussion with both boys individually and explaing to them that it was wrong, it happened again. My husband feels the 8 yr old shows signs of being abused himself while I am not sure. What is normal sexual behavior? Currently we just don't let our children play with this child unsupervised but it is not a good solution if my husband suspicions are correct. We have a two year old in a family day care home, the 8 year old is sometimes cared for there also. I don't want this happening to him and don't know if it is serious enough to alert the family day care provider. Is this normal curiosity or not?
Doctor's Answer
by Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., Feb 02, 2005 12:00AM
, Feb 02, 2005 12:00AM
Children of the age of eight do not normally engage in this type of activity - it is more within the realm of normal for younger children, depending on what actually occurred. Why is there suspicion about what might have occurred with the eight-year-old? Are his parents cognizant of this? If there is some specific information that the parents should know, be sure to tell them so that they can follow up appropriately.
