The truth is one in every three girls is molested in the United States prior to their eighteenth birthdays. Sadly so is one in five boys. So it is happening in every family.
It is best to never leave your children alone and undefended with family, neighbors, friends or in any possible situation where they might be subjected to the cruelty of such a cruel offense.
The repercussions have a life long effect. I became suspicious of other men. I became withdrawn and rather than participate in activities everyone else did, I became a bystander. I observed life rather than participate in life.
I might have been regardless, but I was awkward around people. It was just one more blow to my already wounded self-esteem. It took a tremendous amount of work to overcome the reaction to that day. I was in my forties before I realized why I acted the way I did around men.
It hadn’t been the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last time, but it would teach me a lesson that a young girl should never have to learn. There is an innocence about youth that should be preserved and protected. It is up to parents to do everything they can possibly do to make sure their children are not subjected to such adversity.
Every exposure to cruelty, anger, emotional infliction and all other dysfunctions erodes the capacity of a child to blossom into the genius they are capable of becoming.