Resources For Parents
These resources are here to support parents and families with questions or concerns about youth’s problematic sexual behaviors and preventing sexual abuse.
National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY)
Providing resources, education, and training to both parents and professionals, the mission of NCSBY is to “promote better lives through better choices”. Their Real World Examples demonstrate how other parents have navigated their child’s problematic sexual behaviors, and can help other parents learn how to navigate these concerns. Here are some helpful resources from their site:
- Understanding and Coping with Sexual Behavior Problems in Youth
- Taking Action: Support for Families of Children with Sexual Behavior Problems
- Children with Sexual Behavior Problems: Common Misconceptions vs. Current Findings
- Guidelines for Responding to Sexual Behavior in Children
- Now What? A Caregiver’s Survival Guide: After Discovering a Problematic Sexual Behavior has Occurred
Raliance - Parent 2 Parent
Raliance’s Parent 2 Parent initiative provides parents and caregivers with resources and tools to address children and youth’s problematic sexual behaviors. Read real stories from other parents, access their toolkit, and learn more about healthy sexual development and issues impacting youth’s safe sexual behaviors such as pornography and sexting.
Family Resource Centers
The Massachusetts Family Resource Centers (FRCs) are in every county, and offer education, support, information, and referral services to support both families and communities.
PPAL (Parent/Professional Advocacy League)
The Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PPAL) is a statewide family organization dedicated to improving the mental health and well being of children, youth, and families through education, advocacy, and partnership, and supports families with children at-risk for criminal justice involvement or who are currently in criminal justice systems.
Stop It Now!
In addition to a national confidential helpline (1.888.PREVENT, chat, and email available), Stop It Now! also offers comprehensive information and resources to adults and youth-serving organizations on the prevention of child sexual abuse throough our website. In addition to our resource guide for Children and Youth Struggling with Unsafe or Harmful Sexual Behaviors, check out some of our highlighted resources below:
- FAQs - Children's Behaviors
- These FAQs help to answer common questions parents, caregivers, and other protective adults may have about children’s sexual behaviors, including harmful or abusive sexual behaviors.
- Advice Columns
- Advice columns highlight real stories we’ve heard on our helpline from parents and caregivers questions and concerns about a child or teen’s behaviors:
- Tip Sheets
- These tip sheets can help caring adults figure out how to have conversations with other parents or with their own child or teen about concerning, problematic, or abusive sexual behaviors.
- PARENTtalk Archives
- From 1998 to 2007, Stop It Now! published PARENTtalk, a publication by and for parents and caregivers of youth with sexual behavior problems.
- Community-Based Approach to Healing Families
- Loving Them Both
- Support Groups for Parents
- When Abuse Hits Home
- Stronger and Wiser
- Parent to Parent: How You Can Help
- They've Moved Forward, Forever Changed Parents
- Breaking the Isolation: An Evening Just for Parents
- Loving Them for Telling the Truth: Healing the Victim and the Younger Offender
- A Family Sustained and Nourished with Openness
- Love & Communication Guide to Family Recovery
- A Family's Road to Healing
- A Message of Hope and Courage
- The Most Difficult Decision of My Life