How do good parents miss child sexual abuse? It’s simple.
By not asking the right questions.
One day my son went to a classmate’s home for a Halloween costume party. When I picked him up a few hours later I could tell by the ear to ear grin on his face that he had a great time. As we were about to leave, I was standing at the door with his little friend’s father and grandmother.
Both adults were giving me a great report about my son’s behavior. I was a relieved parent. Thank goodness. No issues. No worries.
I quickly scooted my happy kid in the car and drove home.
But as I drove us home I felt uneasy. Something was off.
Then it hit me. I swerved into the next parking lot. No signal. I got a well-deserved honk from the driver behind me.
But I was distracted. I had been here before. Except I was the child then.
Child Sexual Abuse Back in the Day
I could recall that when I was a little girl being abused by a teen relative that my mother would innocently ask me a few questions as we left a relative’s home.
“Did you behave?” “Did you listen?” “Were you a good girl?”
