Imagine yourself as a parent walking into your children’s bedroom to discover your 6- and 8-year-old children in a state of undress. When you enter the room, they quickly try to cover up and put their clothes back on. What do you think or do? Are you concerned? Is your reaction different if the children are 2 and 4 years old? Seven and 13 years old? Does the gender of the children matter?

Many parents in this situation dismiss the siblings’ behavior as “normal curiosity” and harmless. They may ignore the behavior or tell the children to get dressed without following up. Other parents panic, assuming the worst. They may punish and shame the children. Neither reaction is adequate for addressing sibling sexual behavior.

Unfortunately, reactions from professionals who work with children and families are often not much better. Sophie King-Hill and her colleagues characterized common practitioner reactions to sibling sexual behavior as minimization, catastrophizing, or exaggeration. Minimization is when practitioners dismiss potentially problematic or abusive sibling sexual behavior as harmless exploration. Catastrophizing is when practitioners overreact—often punitively—to sibling sexual behaviors that could be managed in the home with safety planning and supportive parents. Sometimes practitioners feel they must exaggerate the seriousness of sibling sexual behaviors to help families access needed........

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