Grace Essen.
Today, I wish to share a story that has been on social media for a while, and just in case you missed it, it’s a true life experience of a mom which she felt sharing would encourage other parents to pay closer attention to their children. Stories like this are shared not only for us to see just how evil the world is, but so that we know what forms they take, and know what to do to protect our children. Here it goes:
“The first time I noticed my son’s odd habit was when I carried him on my legs in church, I realized he would become quite uncomfortable when my hand was not resting on his crotch, not his thigh, but his crotch, at first I thought maybe he was in pain, and I initially got worried, but I later noticed his hands where going between my legs, this was not an unconscious action, he knew exactly what he was doing, because I brushed his hand away and gave him a stern look, but moments later I noticed he was doing it again, so I had to drop him off my legs and made him sit on a chair by himself, and did I mention my son was just four years old?
When we got home, I brought it to the attention of my husband, and in his usual manner he tried to make light of it, and even chastised me for even thinking our own son would be trying to get fresh with me, “Maybe he just misses you, he obviously doesn’t know what he is doing or where his hands were”, my husband said, “and after-all you are gone before he wakes up, and in bed before you return, so don’t blame the boy for trying to get as much attention from you as he possibly can”, he added. But I was not convinced, what if my son had been exposed to pornography or had started hanging out with bad kids, I mean it’s never too early to start, especially in this day and age, it made me worry.
The next day I called his teacher on the phone and asked her to keep an eye on him, I told her I had noticed some changes in him and I didn’t want the damage to be irreversible. My son’s teacher assured me she would do her best to make sure he wasn’t exposed to the wrong set of people, satisfied with her response I laid all my worries to rest.
A few weeks later, I noticed something strange with my son; I had taken my annual vacation and decided to spend it with my husband and son. On this day I was giving him a bath, and he kept on saying, “It’s mummy’s turn to suck on the straw”. At first, I thought it was a nursery rhyme not until I saw him grab hold of his penis, and repeated the words he said earlier, “It’s mummy’s turn to suck the straw”. And while he held his penis, I noticed it was getting erect. Now don’t get me wrong, I had noticed his erection before, in these cases it usually meant he needed to wee-wee, or he was just waking up from a nap or something, in other words very involuntary actions. But this time I felt he was getting aroused, I was so embarrassed I stood up, brought him out of the bath and quickly wrapped him up in a towel, I did all this without looking at him. I immediately told my husband, and this time I didn’t take it lightly, he saw the seriousness in me and together we grilled our little boy, until he opened up and told us where he learnt the song.
Sometimes you see a lot of things reported on TV and in the papers, and you ask yourself, do these things really happen, or are they stories fabricated by the media to get the attention of the masses, or for print media and soft sell magazines to make money? If at all they happen, who would be so blind as to allow it escalate to such an alarming point? Well, I was about to understand that these things actually happened, and it was happening to my little boy, the words I would never forget. After long minutes of questions and some threats from my husband, he finally opened up, “Aunty Bisi said she likes to suck my straw and I should not let anyone suck it, and that I should always put my hands inside her pants because it makes her happy”.
I collapsed on the floor, when I heard my son say those words. At first, I didn’t believe him, but I realised how on earth a four-year old child would come up with such a story. I stared at my husband, he stared back at me, we were both speechless, and our son stood between us, weeping. I instinctively pulled him close and hugged him tight, and silently blamed myself for not noticing earlier…To be continued.
Grace Essen is the author of Successful Working Mom, she speaks and writes about making business, career and motherhood work @ http://www.Mum2MumAfrica.com