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How Your Child Therapist Will Determine If Your Child Falsely Accused Someone Of Abuse

by Emma Watson

Children, for the most part, try to tell the truth. If they do lie, they usually make of simple lies to hide what they did. They often do not make up wild or grandiose stories to lie, unless there is something more seriously awry with their little psyches. If your child suddenly starts accusing others of physical or sexual abuse, it is in your best interests to take him/her to a child therapist. This action protects you from child protective services, and helps your child and the therapist get to the bottom of things. Additionally, here is how your child's therapist will determine if your child is falsely accusing someone of abuse, or telling the truth.

What Your Child Knows vs. What He/She Should Not Know

Children have many developmental milestones, including the development and introduction of sexual knowledge at the right time. When a child accuses someone of molestation, abuse, or even rape, the therapist takes into consideration the age of the child and the  developmental levels of the child. If a five-year-old can describe in graphic detail what an adult's genitalia looks like, there is a high probability that the child is telling the truth about the abuse. If a twelve-year-old does the same, it becomes more important to the therapist to get dates, times, and frequency details so that the accused has a chance to answer his/her accuser.

Unexplained Marks on Your Child May Be Red Herrings

If your child is accusing someone of physical abuse, again it is important for the therapist to extract details without leading your child. There are sets of questions that therapists should adhere to when questioning children about their abuse experiences. These questions will help the therapist uncover the details about what the accused hit your child with, when, and where these incidents took place. Unexplained marks on your child's body are not always a clue, either, since there are ways to deliver body blows and not leave marks. For that reason, you should take your child's accusations at face value until the therapist deems them false.

Inconsistent Stories

Children do not have the experience or knowledge to know that lies have to be memorized so that they are consistent. Only adults know that. Ergo, if your child's stories are consistently the same right down to the last detail, he or she is telling the truth about the abuse. If the details change, or your child has forgotten what he/she said the last time he/she met with the therapist, the accusations are false. Either way, your child will need therapy either to heal from the abuse or to uncover why he or she would make such serious accusations.

For more information, contact a therapist, like one from The A Treatment Center.

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