A Fine Parent

A Life Skills Blog Exclusively For Parents

About Karen Penn

Karen Penn writes to empower women, wives, and moms to be their best self. Her stories share paths to victory while processing life’s challenges. She also enjoys writing and illustrating children’s books that address topics like sibling rivalry, bullying, building self-esteem and finding true friendship to name a few. Karen has been married 40 years, has five grown children and eleven grandchildren. To connect with her, visit her at www.ecwomen.org.

For more on her daughter’s story and healing, get the book Shhh…It’s a Secret: The Power of Healing and Deliverance.

7 Ways to Process Your Child’s Devastating Words: “I Was Molested”

by .
(This article is part of the Positive Parenting FAQ series. Get free article updates here.)

Main-Image-Devastating-Words-Molested-copy.jpgWhile on a long-distance call with my adult daughter, our conversation came to a screeching halt when I heard the words “I was molested.”

I couldn’t believe what I’d heard and I didn’t want to ask her to repeat it. I had no words. Then after a few seconds, my daughter asked, “Mom, are you there?”

So many questions were going through my mind. How did this happen? When could this have happened? Who was it? Why didn’t I know or see any signs?

And more crushing was the fact that it was too late for me to do anything about it.

I thought I had been careful in raising her, and I found it hard to believe that this tragedy could possibly have happened. But, unbeknownst to me, my child had been robbed of her childhood. A door of sexuality had been opened too early. As a little girl, she saw and experienced what she should not have.

I began to imagine what she might have gone through mentally and emotionally. We were a faith-based family who believed and taught that sex was reserved for marriage. We believed that complying with certain faith-based principles was a pathway to success, peace and blessings.

Yet, this happened. [Read more…]