Earlier this year a boy I watched made an inappropriate gesture on my own daughter. His face buried in her lap, as I politely described to the parents but in a way you would never find yourself in unless you literally wanted to stick your face in someone’s genitals. I corrected the behavior a total of 3 times in the same day. He had never done anything like this before, it was weird, but I still felt like it wasn’t ok. I mortified his mother as she stated the boy would not be returning - I was ok with this.

I will never know why this happened. All I knew was that I didn’t want ‘that’ situation in my home, my child - or any child. I shared the experience with a few family members and I was surprised by the lack of concern. I started to feel guilty and embarrassed because I wasn’t trying to cause a problem or mortify another parent.

I have wondered for months if I did the right thing. I don’t regret saying something. I would have hated myself if I had just let it happen, again.