Be calm and reassuring to your child: Please do not coach your child on what to say. It is important for the story to come out in your child’s words and in your child’s own time.

 

Try to provide as many facts: as you can when you are asked for information. Cases are built on the four W’s: who, what, when, and where. Avoid guessing if you don’t know the answer to a question—it is much better to say you do not know.

 

Tell your child how you feel: and why you feel that way. Your feelings are valuable in giving investigators insight. Although only facts are allowed in court, feelings can help give investigators ideas for how to proceed.

 

Always be honest: even though the truth may not seem favorable to yourself or others.

 

Try not to overreact: It is a difficult time and emotions are probably running high. Losing control can hurt the case and overshadow the needs of the innocent victim, your child.

 

Love, support, and protect: your child at all costs. If the alleged offender is a significant person to you, balancing your feelings for the offender and your child can be very difficult. Remember that your child has only you to make healthy, protective decisions.

 

Cooperate with the investigators: You will probably feel as if investigators are prying into your personal life, but this is necessary and vital to the case and to your child’s welfare. The sooner the facts come out, the sooner the case can be resolved and you can return to a more normal life.

 

Try to understand the investigator’s perspective: You may feel that investigators do not care because they avoid showing emotions. In fact, investigators do care, and part of that caring involves remaining objective and calm in the face of extremely emotional situations.