Hard lesson about friendship and consent

My son (7) told me that his friend has been paying him money to expose himself when they've been playing alone.This is heartbreaking on so many levels. The family of the boy (8) involved is one we're very close to. They are responding appropriately and doing all the right things to get their son support.I feel like hiding in a cave. I've spent seven years trying to teach my kid that although there are people who do bad things, most people are good, and we can trust our friends.But with things like this, it's getting to be impossible for him to believe the "most people are good" idea.Although I feel like striking out at the unfair world, and curling into a ball and hiding out, I'm pushing myself to not be silent, and ask all the parents out there to have hard conversations with your kids.Please find ways to talk to your kids about consent, appropriate behavior in regards to their bodies, good touch vs. bad touch, and that anyone offering gifts or money to expose their bodies is not a friend.It has taken my son several months to be brave enough to decide he had a choice to say no, and to decide to tell us this secret. But he got there because we talk about the hard things, and he trusted us to help him. via /r/Parenting https://ift.tt/2uaVhUR