Should a parent who does not molest his/her child but only threatens to do so go to prison?

This is assuming the threat to sexually molest the child was spoken to the child in a serious, threatening manner, in secret, of course, not in front of anyone but the child. I realize that under those circumstances it would be difficult to convict a parent in a court of law, but I don't want a legal opinion here, just your take on it; after all, nothing really happened, right? The child was not actually molested, only threatened with it. If it makes any difference, assume that the child is about 9 or 10 years old and a girl.