Parents...Know the Warning Signs of Abuse

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Okay, a lot of us have seen the stories on television concerning child molestation and how us parents can help keep our children safe. But I don't know how many times I've seen a parent interviewed, either on a news show like 20/20 or on Oprah, etc., who've said that they would know if someone was abusing their child (or children) because they have such open and honest communication with them. I've heard parents say, "My child would always come to me if someone was abusing them or being inappropriate with them" and personally this makes me inwardly cringe. I'm not being critical of that parent at all but I know from personal experience that this is not always the case. The majority of children who are molested, are abused by either a family member or friend of the family. Pedophiles are master manipulators and will groom a child to trust them well before the actual abuse begins. They will then often tell the child such things as "this is our special secret" or "I do this to you because I love you so much". They often imply that the child will be punished or get in trouble if the "secret" is revealed. They also may say other things to frighten the child such as that their family will abandon them if the child tells anyone. Pedophiles do no want to get caught in their deplorable behavior so they'll do everything they can to make the child think it is somehow their fault. How do I know all of this? Because it happened to me for years when I was a child and I never, ever told my mom even though she and I were able to talk about so many things. To her dying day she never knew what happened, that's how engrained the threats and messages were in my mind. I'm a parent of sons and I always knew that even though we have great communication, I also needed to be aware of the possible warning signs. These signs can include: Developing frequent urinary tract infections Vague health problems such as headaches or stomach aches Regressive behavior such as thumb sucking or temper tantrums Indicating a reluctance to be with a certain person Bed wetting, nightmares, a sudden onset of behavioral problems These are just some warning signs,but it's also important to know that these signs don't ALWAYS mean that abuse is going on. They should be taken seriously though. You can go to Protect Kids.com at http://www.protectkids.com/abuse/abusesigns.htm to read more about this. Thanks for listening :)