Bad Touches Taught in School

 WARNING:  With a title like this, you know that some parts of this discussion may not be suitable for young readers.  Thank you.

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Today, I came across a horrid story about a little child who was locked in a closet for six long years.  She gained two pounds from the time she was two years old until she was eight.  Medical professionals weren't sure she'd ever recover.  The poor child's vagina was so torn that there was no separate anal opening, and she required several surgeries.

Just incredible bad, bad stuff.  And her siblings would be right there, playing nearby... I guess it was normal to them. 

All that to say, I "get" where books about sex abuse and terrifying happenings need to be printed for children.  It simply doesn't follow that these materials should be available in my child's elementary school for just any kid who grabs a random book off the shelf to read.

The student's mother allowed me to post this excerpt.

An acquaintance of mine on the East Coast is saying that No More Secrets for Me by Oralee Wachter was available for her seven-year-old in public school.  Just out for any kid to check out of the library. 

I haven't read the entire book (just the preview on Amazon linked above) but it looks like a great therapy or teaching tool for kids who have been through this sort of thing, to let them know they aren't the only ones to go through this.  I suppose some parents might also guide their children through a story like this in the hopes of preventing difficulties down the road.

"What makes me furious," my friend wrote recently, "is that they don't teach my seven-year-old child how to hold a pencil, how to spell, handwriting, or U.S. History."  And yet "they will tell me what foods she has to eat, how much she should weigh and apparently, give her books about sex without my permission!"

The school encouraged the child to write a report about this book.  The mom is (understandably) outraged.