The question here is simple. What would you have done if you were in the same position as Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar, where several of your daughters told you that their 15-year old brother had been openly touching them on the breasts and genital areas both when sleeping and awake?

I find it a bit odd that all these condemnations of the Duggars seem to completely ignore the fact that - as far as anyone can tell - the approach they took actually worked.

[FTR and FWIW, I'm pretty sure I would not report my kid to the police in a situation like this. I agree about watching him like a hawk, though.]

I'm not even sure I would take the victim kids for therapy. Besides for the fact that therapy in general is not necessarily effective, there's also a serious risk IMO that by doing so you would magnify the significance of the incidents in their minds and by this itself cause them all sorts of trauma that might be avoided if you used a lighter approach.

I would definitely speak to the kids about it and let them know if they were troubled by what had happened we could get help from professionals, but if they seemed fine with parental reassurance that they had nothing to feel bad about then I would probably leave them be.

You think this is a minor thing? A five year old gets molested and you think it's nothing?

No need to exaggerate here. I didn't say it was "nothing" and I can't think of a legitimate reason for you to pretend that I did.

What I do think is that a big portion of the trauma that abuse victims feel is the result of connotations created by society and culture, and to the extent that the matter is highlighted as a Terrible Thing it would tend to magnify that aspect. IMO. Feel free to disagree without pretending that I've said five year olds getting abused is "nothing".