Too Close for Comfort

There is a guy at my church and he's like 40 years old. Well the first time I met him, he put his hand on my shoulder and I didn’t think anything of it, because he is a friend of my dad. But now he always stands really close to me and talks to me! He always stares at me and like touches me. I'm 12 so this really scares me and I don’t know what’s going on.

I'm scared of worse things that could happen because you can’t really trust anybody anymore these days, right? This has been going on for a while. I didn’t tell anybody and I'm scared to tell my parents. Please give me some advice on what to do!

-Very-Scared-Girl

I'm sorry you have to be in this situation, girl. If you feel that anything he has been doing or saying is inappropriate, or is more than you are comfortable with, tell someone! This may be hard since he is your dad's friend but you should let your dad know that you don't like the way he acts around you.

Choose your words wisely though. It's probably not a good idea to go up to your dad and say, "Dad, your friend _______ is SUCH a creep!" Something more like, "Hey dad, I'd rather not be home when ____ comes over, he makes me feel uncomfortable when he talks to me or gets too close," should be appropriate. Your dad will get the message and distance you or both of you from this man.

If the guy continues to pursue you or won't leave you alone, have another talk with your dad, or both of your parents. They'll figure something out for all of you to keep you safe.

Good Luck,
Jaime

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4/25/2009 10:00:00 AM
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