European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 14, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 16 the stars and stripes saturday september 14, 1985 by Lidia Wasowicz United press International or the first time in 24 years a san Diego High school Counselor now asks Mother adult to be present any time he meets with n female s Udell. I be been helping Young people of More than two decades and now i find myself wondering whether some adolescent girl will go and say. This Man s trying to get Friendly with me " he said asking not to be identified. A Young Mother has quit her Job to care Lor her 3 year old son rather than entrust him to strangers at a Day care Center. It May sound silly since i be been relying on the Center Tor nearly a year but now i get Panicky when my son s not with me said Cindy Gasher of Greenbrae. Calif. A Grandfather of two no longer smiles at toddlers. I really had a Shock recently in the supermarket when i grinned at a Little girl who was winking at me and the Mother grabbed the child and said Silver haired Zygmunt Pawlak of san Bruno Calif. Although its exact extent is Uncertain Public attention focused on child abuse has had a chilling elect on family relations and counselling. Heavily publicized molestation cases against defendants ranging from parents to teachers to ministers to youth workers have tue led nationwide juror Over the violation of innocence. The once sexually Neutral tiny Tot is urged in Public service advertisements and educational films to be wary of strangers report anything suspicious and be ready to say. No and flee from adults appearing to make improper advances. As a consequence child development experts said in interviews some adults have become so tearful of having a simple gesture of Friendship or affection be misinterpreted As a dastardly deed they Are withholding nurturing touches that Are crucial to a child s development. Child psychiatrists and psychologists emphasize the phenomenon appears to be temporary and confined to a minority of the population. Nevertheless the repercussions May be Long term and serious. The fact that it is happening at All is a tragedy because it is depriving Bolh the adult and the child of a healthy Loving relationship said or. Edward Weiss a Washington child psychiatrist and associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Georgetown University. Socie trs new found concern with child sexual abuse in the United states is making the role of parents All the More difficult said or. Howard Levy chairman of the department of paediatrics at mount Sinai medical Center in Chicago. A Parent is bathing a child and the child says no to certain types of touching and the Parent is at a Complete loss of what to do. A father who used to put his Arm around his teen age daughter now Levy said. It s Fine to be aware of what is a definite fear of child abuse has led some parents to Slop sending their children to Day care Center. New York time problem but exaggerated withdrawals of parents can be or. David Chadwick director of the Center for child Protection at children s Hospital and health Center in san Diego said parents should use common sense to draw the line Between affection and abuse. One simple Rule of thumb is if you Don t get sexually aroused it s not sexual abuse he said. Or. Alvin Rosenfeld director of psychiatric services at jewish child care association of new York says the massive publicity about missing and molested children May be doing More harm than Good. We Are terrifying parents and children into unhealthy lifestyles. Some parents Are afraid to let their kids go out of the House. And we May be instilling undue fear of the world in children who Are confronted with a constant assault of what May be a one-in-10.000 Case of abuse he said. The atmosphere of concern has become so pervasive some people think All Day care centers Are Dens of iniquity and All scout masters Are perverts. That just does t make particularly anxious Are parents of handicapped children says Maria Nasjleti Ped Ianc social worker at Stanford University Hospital in California. There s a real fear in these parents about putting their children in Day care centers because they Are so vulnerable and helpless. They can t run away and Tell someone if they Are mistreated like the Normal kids can she said. I work with handicapped children and i see Many two career couples now choosing to have the Mother quit working rather than risk the child s Glen Hawkes professor of human development at the University of California Davis says he is concerned another sad Side effect May be the further reluctance of men to Lake on Day care and elementary school teaching jobs. We were just beginning to entice men into these professions now largely held by women he said. I m afraid fear May keep a lot of men out now. s too bad because our studies show children play differently with men than with women and it s healthy for them to get Early experience in interacting with both or. Neil senior director of clinical services at the Brattleboro i Retreat a non profit psychiatric Hospital said he was most concerned about children spinning tall tales of abuse As a Power that s the whole other Side. I have seen adolescents claim sexual abuse then deny their stories. I have seen families dragged through police interrogations with no substance to the charges. I have seen children used by spiteful spouses in divorce he and other experts said they have been encountering a disturbing number of cases involving false claims of sexual abuse. In today s emotionally charged environment the paranoia can reach ridiculous proportions like in a Minnesota Case in which an entire Village was accused of molesting children charges that eventually were thrown out of court said or. Daniel offer chairman of the department of psychiatry at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago. Child abuse does exist. There Are some 2 million cases reported each year. We should take note but we should t swing too far the other Way " adults paranoid about showing affection attention on child abuse chill family relations
