Alien Abduction, Children and Parents

Classic Abduction

Many abduction stories contain elements of the 'classic abduction', where the person is held against their will and given an intrusive physical examination. Stories abound of reproductive research and stolen sperm and ova.
Those events do seem to fit the scenario for adult abductees.

Children

Those same scenarios are rarely reported in the stories told by children, or by anyone before the onset of puberty. A child's recount is more likely to contain decriptions of flying, other children, and strange toys. Sometimes there will be an authority figure present who watches over, and perhaps records the the actions of grouped children.

Deciding whether a child has been abducted can be a problem in itself. Monsters in the closet, ghosts, angels, imaginary friends, all are signs of an imaginative child. Children are often berated for being overtly imaginative.
There is no easy way to tell what's real and what's not. Scary stories have always been a rite of passage during childhood, and with increased media and television series it's understandable that children concoct even more outrageousness.

The decision as to what's real then falls on parental figures, and though parents have only the child's best interest, it's sometimes where parents fail most. They've been brought up that there's no such thing as paranormal entities, and when a frightened child comes their way, impress and pass on that belief to their child.
The child suffers from conflicting feelings. That of believing the parent, and that of what their emotions, or even their own eyes are telling them; they saw something in their room, in the sky, on the playground, in the woods.

Parents

For most parents, it's as easy as saying there's no such thing as name-the-entity. Those families may go on with life never knowing if what was seen was real or not. Maybe something was really seen,or maybe it really was the result of an overactive imagination.

But for parental abductees, the issue isn't, is it real or not, but how to explain something they themselves don't understand.
There's fear warring with the desire to tell the truth. Conflicting desire to protect the child, and to help them help themselves.

If you choose to explain what some believe as the truth, that aliens come for them, you risk social stigmas for yourself and your child. Maybe you'll even increase fears they already have and compound the powerlessness you, and your child, feels.
Many parents choose to continue the lie, that no such thing could possibly happen and the child needs to control that imagination and get with the program.

And still other parents whom I've spoken with choose neither path. They listen to the child's story and neither confirm nor deny the existence that frightening things might be happening.
Sometimes they offer a variety of explanations and let the child choose what they think it might be.

Most all parents agree though, it's in the child's interest to at least acknowledge the child has fears and concerns. Further handling of the situation can be based on a mixture of parental assurance and beliefs, spiritual, scientific, and otherwise.

Possible Signs in Young People

Though much of the below can also be applied to any age group, some items are more prevalent in children.

+ Plain or multi-colored, floating balls of light
+ Flying toys, toys that move or 'watch' them, doors open and close
+ Shadow people, stick people
+ Talking animals, dogs, cats, birds, insects
+ Animals, people, or 'monsters' looking in the window
+ Hearing voices, sometimes accompanied by 'imaginary friends'
+ Tornado dreams not connected to an actual event, tornadoes that chase, follow, or fly them
+ Insects, such as wasps, bees, praying mantis, cockroaches, larger than life
+ Sleep disturbances, frequent nightmares, inability to sleep, or sleepy from disturbed rest

Any of the above by themselves or as a one time incident, might not mean anything. But if they're frequent or several factors show themselves, it might bear looking at from a paranormal stance.

What Can You Do?

Unfortunately, as of this writing, I've been unable to find much information of children accounts of abduction. Too often, it's interspersed amongst the general phenomena in relation to whole families, with the focus usually being on a parental figure.

Parents don't have all the answers, and that especially goes in a paranormal setting that doesn't follow reality as we know it.
Let your child know they can come talk to you without being ridiculed, and that everyone has fears they don't understand, maybe even you.
You don't have to understand, or even believe. But like anything else concerning your child, you should be supportive, and, a little hugging never hurts either.