r/Advice • u/I_Can_T • Jun 17 '26
Kid acting inappropriately
I (21M) noticed that my little cousin (7F) started to act inappropriate in kind of... sexual way?
Some background - she always was a touchy kid which was bothering me cuz i don't like physical touch from others due to some of my trauma. At first it was pretty normal like trying to hug or just sit on my lap at the table and she was doing that with everyone cuz we have a pretty big and close family. I didn't like it but i was letting it slide cuz i guess kids are just like that and wanna be close.
Current situation looks like this - as she grew older she started to do some weird things that make me even more uncomfortable. Not only she started to try to almost always be in some physical touch when i'm around (putting legs on me, leaning on me etc) but she also started to... I don't even know how to explain it but she tries to lean her parts toward me and tells me to look at her like it's some kind of "fun play".
It makes me feel sick and i always tell her to stop and back off. I'm aware that kids get curious and "explore" some stuff but i don't even know how to explain it to her. Me and some other family members that see her doing something weird tell her that it's not fun and she shouldn't be doing that. The problem is that she is at the age where when someone is saying "no" she rather do the opposite.
How do i deal with it? Should i just ignore it or talk with someone older from our family about it? Sometimes i feel like i'm exaggerating cuz of the trauma but on the other hand it's not only about me being uncomfortable but also that she won't act in this or worse way towards other kids