11.08.2010
(Disclaimer: The following has not happened to me. It’s purely for discussion’s sake.)
We all know that kids say the darndest things and, I have found, that kids under 5 tend to speak whatever’s on their mind without much regard to the consequences. It’s their honesty that I find so special because as we get older we learn to hold back by taking all variables into consideration (hurting someone’s feelings, telling the truth might get someone in trouble, not wanting to explain things, etc). But, about the element of truth, sometimes kids say something that, I think, we wouldn’t really know how to react to. Well, let me speak for myself because I’m usually the clueless one and am curious to hear from parents since this is something, I assume, parents would know how to deal with (and I say that because they're exposed to kids more than I).
If a child tells you that someone at home is getting abused, do you get involved? Does the situation change if a kid you don’t know happens to tell you that? In other words, do you get involved only if you know the kid?
You have a duty to get involved if you're someone like a family member, teacher/counselor/administrator, or peace officer. Beyond that, it's a matter of conscience. If I knew enough of the facts to conclude there was definitely abuse, I'd get involved.
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