Talk to your kids or the world will

I come up with a lot of reasons to not write publicly but I keep hearing I was made to create, not always consume so.. here we are.

I'm curious if I would have been on high alert this past week with a school incident if the media hadn't been full of stories of sexual abuse and #metoo. I hope I would. 

My girls haven't seen the news and their "red flags" went off last week. They walked wide eyed through the door and said "We need to tell you something right now." I couldn't have been more thankful. It was not sexual abuse or predatory behavior but they were told by a trusted adult "not to repeat something to their parents" and "leave that part of your day out" after saying the word "sex." 

It made them feel icky inside. It made them feel icky because we have talked about secrets, shame, predatory behavior, and boundaries. They are 10. We had a version of the conversation when they entered our home at 5 and have ongoing conversations regularly.

There is no way we can one up and predict everything our children will encounter in this life but we can teach them "red flags" and I pray for the Godward orientation of their heart and that they learn how the Spirit talks to them personally. We are not their Holy Spirit. 

Please talk to your kids or the world will. 

This is a good resource for littles ~2-8 years old. 

Do you have any other helpful resources? Maybe your caregivers didn't talk to you about your body or sex has always been a secret, shameful topic. You may be able to say #metoo to sexual abuse and the thought of talking through it with your kids feels like too much. My heart laments over yours. There is hope and healing. Don't walk it alone. Jesus gives some fabulous gifts through counselors and friends.