“See it, Say it!” Helping to End the Abuse of Our Children!
In 1982, I worked in a Headstart center, I had only been out of college for two years. I worked in the room with the 3 and 4 year olds. One day, one of our little girls had an accident, and she didn’t have any clothes in her cubby. We called the house, and the uncle agreed to bring a change of clothes.
When the uncle arrived, he was asked to change her clothes in the bathroom. As he led her to the bathroom, she began screaming, and pulling away from him. I couldn’t understand why she would react this way, after all, it was her uncle. Weeks later, we found out that the uncle had been molesting her. Her screams were a cry for help, and I feel like I failed her. I use the present tense, because every time I hear a story about child abuse, I think of that little girl’s screams. I failed that little girl.
I realize that we are overwhelmed in our classrooms. We are required to be all
