• Nightmares, trouble sleeping, fear of the dark, or other sleeping problems
• Loss of appetite, or trouble eating or swallowing 
• Sudden mood swings
• Fear of certain people or places (a child may not want to be left alone with some other child or adult; or a certain child who is usually talkative may become quiet and distant when around a certain person)
• Stomach illness all the time with no identifiable reason
• Behaviors and tendencies of a younger child (bed-wetting, thumb sucking, etc)
• The tendency to simulate sex with toys, or ask other children/siblings to behave sexually
• New words for private body parts
• A reluctance to talk about a "secret" or "friendship" he or she has with an adult or older child
• Money, all of a sudden
• The tendency to cut or burn herself or himself as an adolescent
• Unexplained bruises, redness, or bleeding of the child's genitals, anus, or mouth
• Pain in the genitals, anus, or mouth
• Genital sores or milky fluids in the genital area

Do you know an adult who treats children inappropriately?

The adult...

• Refuse to let a child set any of his or her own limits
• Insist on hugging, touching, kissing, tickling, wrestling with or holding a child even when the child does not want this affection
• Is overly interested in the sexuality of a particular child or teen (e.g., talk repeatedly about the child's developing body or interferes with normal teen dating)  and talk frequently about the sexual activities of children or teens
• Manage to get time alone or insist on time alone with a child without interruption
• Spend most of his/her spare time with children and has little interest in spending time with someone their own age
• Regularly offer to baby-sit many different children for free or takes children on overnight outings alone
• Buy expensive gifts for children or give them money for no apparent reason
• Frequently walk in on children/teens in the bathroom
• Allow children or teens to consistently get away with inappropriate behaviors
• Masturbate a lot or takes breaks from other activities to masturbate
• Talk about sexual fantasies with children
• Have deen abused as a child and won't deal with it
• Encourage silence and secrets in a child
• Look at child pornography
• Ask adult partners to dress or act like a child or teen during sexual activity
• Often have a "special" child friend, maybe a different one from year to year
• Make fun of a child's body parts, call a child sexual names

Report Suspected Abuse

Call the local Child Protective Services (CPS) Agency located in the state where the suspected abuse has taken place.  There is no federal jurisdiction for abuse cases.  Each state has its own laws regarding abuse and reports of abuse.  Some states require you, by law, to report any suspicions that you have regarding abuse.  Depending on where you live, it can be a crime to keep your suspicions a secret.

Visit www.acf.dhhs.gov for the phone number of your local CPS agency.