The child might say, "I want to tell you something but you must keep it a secret". You would say to the child, "Is it a happy/good secret or a sad/bad secret? Because if it is a secret that makes you sad or hurts you then I will have to tell someone so that we can help to stop your unhappiness".
If you lie to a child in this circumstance then the child will feel betrayed and will not believe other professionals when they say something like, "It was not your fault" or "You won't get into trouble you have done a brave and right thing by telling".
Hope this helps
Ann
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