Teenage nephew exposed self to our 6 year old daughter

[indyca]

Our  16 year old nephew exposed himself to our 6 year old daughter.  She told us it happened twice in the same day.  They have been very close since she was born.  My sister and I married brothers so we all spend a lot of time together, we've taken vacations together and spent almost every Saturday afternoon together in some form or fashion.  Our nephew has always taken care of our daughter and we always admired how close they were.  When she told us this happened we immediately believed her.  When we confronted my husbands brother and my sister, they did not believe that it happened and their son gave them a story that it was an accident that she saw him. Long story short, we know that she is telling the truth.  To complicate matters, we all go to the same church.  We are now barely speaking to each other.  They can't believe we would think their son is "that kind of person".  He is having trouble in school, has been caught in numerous lies, has stolen something out of our home and was never punished for it or even questioned.  I'm afraid for the path that he is on.  Even if I tell my sister I think he needs help, I think they are in total denial.  He is the youngest child and he has an older brother who is a straight A student in college and has been their pride and joy.  What, if anything more should I do?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Beyond imploring his parents to seek help for him, there really is nothing more you can do. I do think it is possible that the behavior occurred more than the times that have been identified. Focus on your daughter and the reaction she is having to this. She will likely do fine, but check some more with her about what precisely occurred.

[therese83]

Do not let your daughter near that boy EVER again and do not ever doubt that your daughter told you the truth.  He took complete advantage of the trust and love she placed in him and thank God she told you and it did not escalate, which it probably would have if you didnt find out.

You take care of your little child, good luck

[Martind12001]

No Offense but a 16yr old boy should know its wrong to show his private parts to a little 6 year old girl, my daughter is 6 and if a 16 year old did that to her i would be ringing the police.

I suggest giving him a serious talking to because anyone elses child and he could end up in serious trouble, If he has problems such as ADHD etc i think that could do it, however you cant always use ADHD or problems as an excuse,

Like i said he is old enough to know better but still talk to him and tell him why he shouldnt be doing it

Sorry to be harsh

[MrsVain]

I also had a similar issue with my sisters then teenage boy and my 4 year old girl. he touched her butt. I confronted him, and told him that i wasnt sure why that happend or why he would do something like that and that it better not happen again. i did not say anything to my sister about it and continued on like we always had, we just watched the girl and that boy, made sure they were never alone or that stuff like that. i am sure if i had told my sister we would have had the same type of problem but i felt the boy was old enough to understand what i was saying and i made sure he knew that i knew and would be watching for that behavior again, and making sure that he wasnt left alone with her. he did understand and was embarassed also. however, now that he is grown, we are close and he came up to apologize to me and explained that he was just messed up in the head. the girl is older now too, and nobody is acting all wierd in front of anyone.

if the case is that he is on a downward path, the truth will come out eventually, and your sister will be forced to see his behavior. but unfortuately i doubt there is anything else you can do except like the doctor said, focus on your own daughter.

good luck

good luck