I don't get into these much, but it was NOT sexual harassment! [View all]
Look, I understand the fears of those who have been sexually harassed and tormented. I am among them. I understand that the idea of unwanted contact between two kids can bring up all kinds of worries and speculation and generalization to what might happen in the future. But I also have seen a whole lot of kids in therapy, I have studied child development for a long time, and a six year old boy, unless he suffers from a very rare and specific subset of physical and symptomatically psychological conditions (very, very early sexual maturity combined with inappropriate sexual knowledge or contact) is not capable of what we adults think of as sexual harassment.
Six year olds -normal six year olds- can be sexually curious, but even that is different from adult sexuality. We once called it "playing doctor." Straight six year old boys or girls can engage in touch with kids of the same sex, boys and girls can act out of curiosity and imagination, and even out of some exposure, accidental or otherwise, to adult sex. It doesn't mean the same thing to them. They don't know where babies come from even after they've been TOLD where babies come from, because they have no hormonally driven sexual responses, no adult conception of erection and penetration, and they think magically. Sexual harassment as we adults identify it is predicated on adult thoughts, ideas, fears, aggressions, etc. that six year olds do not possess.
Was he acting out and does he need to be worked with in order to help him curtail his aggressive pursuit of the little girl and learn what is and is not acceptable to others? You bet. But even if he pulled his willie in class, dropped his pants and waggled it around, it would not be the same thing as if someone, say, ten or older did it. Even ten is a bit of a stretch, but it's not as utterly unlikely.
Children's brains are not developed. They do not think or respond the way adults do. Give that little guy a break. Concentrating on this may stand in the way of him getting the actual help to control his impulses that he needs. The thing that stands to cause the most trouble is this whole thing getting so much attention and him being saddled with it. He may end up paying for the anger and fear of the supposed adults around him (possibly including his mother, but that's a whole other story).
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