DEAR ABBY: A friend of ours has a 7-year-old son who molested our 7-year-old child. We alerted our friend to the situation, and she confronted her son, who admitted the act.
From what our child told us, this was not just "curiosity." Our friend took her son to a child psychiatrist and informed us that they discovered the boy had been molested for over a year by an older boy. Then we were told that he would have to be in therapy anywhere from six months to a year.
After two or three visits to the doctor, the mother stopped taking him because it was too upsetting for the child, and he would cry and get sick before the appointment, so no more therapy.
Do you think this is wise? Since he was molested and has acted out on other children (ours was not the only one -- there were several), should he or should he not be in therapy? I believe he should. -- CONCERNED FRIEND
DEAR CONCERNED FRIEND: I, too, believe the boy should be in therapy. Is the boy rebelling because he dislikes the therapy -- or the therapist? Perhaps another therapist could be a solution.