Brave Girl, Speak

In previous posts, I have described abusers as master manipulators and explained how they employ a variety of predatory actions to harm their victims. In this post, I am going to focus on how some abusers seek routine activities to gain access to a child repeatedly and how parents can be on the lookout for this occurrence. For the most part, in our culture, we thrive on routine- work, school, church, extra-curricular activities, date night, movie night, game night, etc. When in balance, routine is generally very healthy and promotes a sense of security. Unfortunately, abusers sometimes access this routine or create one of their own.

For many, August 16, 1999 is just another day. For some it may be a birthday or an anniversary or have a significant meaning. But who remembers it as the premiere of the game show “Who wants to be a Millionaire,” hosted by Regis Philbin? If you like game shows, you are probably thinking “oh yeah, I remember when he hosted that and it was popular.” Or, if you were really dedicated to the show, you may remember the first person winning the huge million dollar prize. It wasn’t until a few years ago that this date gained significance for me. I was trying to piece together a timeline of my life when it finally occurred to me that if I could figure out the premiere date of this show, I could learn when the more severe abuse began. Courtesy of google and some other websites, I learned the history of the show.

Prior to that August date, I do not recall having much one on one time with my abuser. At eight years old, when the previews started airing for “Who wants to be a Millionaire,” I became intrigued and couldn’t contain my excitement for it to air. My abuser likely took note in his mind every single time I voiced my anticipation to watch this show. He likely recognized this as an opportunity to create a new routine in which he would have multiple opportunities to act. And on August 16, 1999 when I was 8 ½ years old, my abuser enthusiastically invited me to his room to watch “Who wants to be a Millionaire.”

My abuser created a routine in which I was expected to “watch” this television show with him each time it aired, providing him with 30 minutes to an hour to abuse me. This “quality time” did not exist in any format prior to the airing of this show. Parents and caregivers, notice if anything like this takes place in your child’s life. If there is someone that spends little to no time with a child, then all of a sudden is playing video games with him or her every Saturday, or watching a television show every Friday evening, or practicing a sport with them every Tuesday, pay attention to any further signs of potential abuse. Or better yet, get involved in that routine as well! Learn to play video games every now and again, encourage watching the television show in a family room, attend as many practices and games as possible. Disrupt the routine every once in a while and notice any signs of disturbance at the disruption. The person creating the new routine does not have to be an adult either. It could be an older family member or neighbor.

This is not a tactic all abusers will use. And just because someone wants to play an active role in a child’s life, does not mean they are an abuser. This is just something to be aware of to hopefully prevent another child from being abused.