Most parents teach their kids NOT to tattle. I mean, let’s face it, there is nothing that pushes you to your breaking point faster than a tiny human relentlessly tugging at your shirt and repetitively whining, “Mommy, Jimmy hit me!”
I get goosebumps just thinking about it.
But for Jessica and Jeremy Martin-Weber, the sexual assault of two of their children directly changed the way they parent when it comes to tattling.
Beyond Moi
The “Beyond Moi” bloggers write in a series of Facebook posts about how tattling was both directly involved and directly enabled the sexual assault of their children.
Prior to learning about the sexual assault of their children, Jessica and Jeremy had a fairly strict “no tattling policy” with their six children. Like most parents and teachers, they found tattling to be annoying and unnecessary.
“The kids would start telling us something and we’d ask them if they were tattling and essentially shut it down.”
But those tactics changed 12 years ago when the teenage son of Jessica and Jeremy’s then-best-friends, took advantage of their 3- and 5-year-old daughters.
Beyond Moi
The couple learned that their “no tattling policy” had actually aided the teen in his methods, rather than stopping him.