Sexual Behavior in Children: What’s Normal? What’s Harmful?

This post was originally published on April 27, 2017 and updated on April 4, 2019. Playing “doctor” is a common sign of normal curiosity in children. Little girls and little boys want to see each other’s private parts. That’s pretty harmless when you’re dealing with 5-year-olds. But what happens when a 10-year-old boy cajoles a 7-year-old girl into a bathroom and wants to put their private parts together?… Read More Read more

5 Body Safety Rules Every 5-Year-Old Should Know

It seems like the number of things you need to talk to your children about in order to keep them safe just keeps growing! One issue that should be at the top of your list is protecting kids from sexual abuse. Why? The CDC reports that 1 in every 5 children will experience sexual abuse. That’s 1 out of 4 girls and 1 out of 6 boys.… Read More Read more

Are Your Kids Safe from Abuse in Sports? 3 Questions Every Parent Should Ask

Little league baseball, rep hockey, competitive swimming, after-school tennis lessons, karate classes . . . so many sports for our kids to choose from! Whatever activity your child chooses, the benefits of participating in youth sports are almost endless: they can improve outcomes in all areas including physical, social, psychological, academic and health. In well-structured sports, children receive opportunities to set and meet personal goals, develop lasting friendships and enhance problem-solving skills.… Read More Read more

Good News! Project Arachnid Tracks Down Child Abuse Images and Protects Survivors

Imagine an “army of spiders” crawling the internet through millions of websites at lightning speed. Sound creepy? Well, yes and no!  What if the “army of spiders” was on a determined hunt to track and flag child sexual abuse material for destruction? Sound impossible? Then meet Project Arachnid – a software tool developed by the Canadian Centre for Child Protection. In January 2017, Project Arachnid was released to detect images and videos of child sexual abuse using Microsoft’s Photo DNA technology.… Read More Read more

Sexual Assault Expert Warns of Heartbreaking Trend Among Children

I am a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) at a large children’s hospital. My job is to collect evidence, look for injuries, provide support, and testify in trials for victims of sexual assault. If you’ve ever heard of a “rape kit”, SANE nurses are the ones who collect the evidence that goes inside of these kits. I remember distinctly where I was sitting several years ago when my gut told me something was off.… Read More Read more

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