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How and when to teach your kids about sexual assault

A clinical psychologist weighs in on when it's time to have a very important conversation.

As children grow up, exposure to harsh news happening in the world is inevitable. 

"We have a 24 hour news cycle and there's a strong likelihood that a small child will see something on the news where they talk about a coach or something taking advantage of young children in their charge," Clinical Psychologist, Joshua Williams, said. 

Recent news of two Tennessee adults at the center of statutory rape investigations, Kenneth Smith and Michelle Bingham, could be a conversation topic with your teens according to some psychologists.

"That's a teachable moment. That's when they can talk about a man or a woman that was very naughty and they did things they need to talk about that," Dr. Williams said. 

Dr. Williams said a parent's job is to be a teacher, and you need to be able to talk to your kids about things happening around them.

"Maintaining a fluid and transparent dialogue with our children is of the utmost importance for parents," Dr. Williams said. 

He said this type of open dialogue can help gain trust and if something out of the ordinary is happening to them it will be easier to detect, but you should always be aware of these signs.

"Any sudden or abrupt change in a child's behavior is a sign something is going on in their lives. That's an opportunity for a parent to start asking questions," Dr. Williams said. 

He said it's terrible to see these types of situations unfold across the country, but we need to use it as a way to put communication with our children at the top of our priority list. 

If you do talk to you child after noticing some kind of attitude change and still have no luck getting to the source, Dr. Williams said that's when you might want to seek professional help. 

He said by introducing a third party, your child might be more willing to open up and express what's going on.

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