Child abuse

Child Abuse

                It all starts unexpectedly for little David, in the book A Child Called It, one moment his mom is letting him play with his brothers and then the next she’s locking him in the basement.  All David knows is that for some reason he isn’t good enough to be loved and that he doesn’t deserve it, but yet that’s all he wants so he tries to just forget about the way his mom acts with him. Deep down David is fighting to be stronger and striving to have someone help him but he is just too weak and scared. Child abuse is nothing to joke around about, especially when there are thousands of other kids out there that are dealing with the same thing as David. Parents don’t realize the affects they have on their children and the mental damage they cause them when they hit them or tear them down with their cruel words and criticism.

Many kids do not know how to speak up when they are being abused and it is mostly out of being scared of what their parents will do to them if they don’t get the right kind of help. Many people do not report it and keep a lot hidden out of fear and the fact that these days people think of it as so called “normal” when in reality it is just wrong! 

There are many different reasons of what causes parents to abuse their children and some of the reasons are: being personally abused as a kid, being in an unstable relationship, or drug and alcohol abuse.  Parents tend to take out there personal childhood experience on their children because that was how they were raised and taught to treat someone. Some parents tend to over drink and that can cause them to not think straight and take any frustration they have out on their kids.

There are four main types of abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional and psychological abuse, and neglect.

Physical abuse is the intentional use of physical force against a child that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in harm for the child’s health, survival, development, or dignity. This includes hitting, beating kicking, shaking, biting, strangling, scalding, burning, poisoning, and suffocating. Much physical violence against children in the home is inflicting with the object of punishing. 

Sexual abuse is one that some people think is the worse one because of how absolutely wrong it is, it is the involvement of a child in sexual activity that he or she does not fully comprehend and is unable to give informed consent to, or for which the child is not developmentally prepared, or else that violates the laws or social taboos of society. Children can be sexually abused by both adult and other children who are  by virtue of their age or stage of development and have earned the trust of the victim.

Emotional and psychological abuse involves both isolated incidents, as well as a pattern of failure over time on the part of a parent or caregiver to provide a developmentally appropriate and supportive environment. It can mentally and emotionally tear down a kid to where they feel as though they are worth nothing and as if they don’t deserve to be loved by anyone and can cause serious problems in the future for the child.

Neglect  includes both isolated incidents, as well as a pattern of failure over time on the part of a parent or other family member to provide for the development and well being of the child – where the parent is in a position to do so in one or more of the following areas: health, educational development, nutrition, shelter, and safe living conditions. The parents of neglected children are not necessarily poor.

No one ever realizes what sexual abuse can truly do to a person when they are older, Tiffany was only 7 and all she ever saw was the terrible things that happened to her older sisters. Tiffany would watch in shock as her sister would repeatedly show their mother what their father would do to them, yet she would just nod it off like it was nothing because she cared too much about trying to impress her husband. As she got older her own cousins began touching her and taking advantage of her and her mother still did nothing. Eventually Tiffany grew up to believe that she was worth nothing but a pice of meat to men,  she began getting in very abusive relationships that almost made her take her life and the only thing that kept her from that is knowing how much her little boy needed her. Tiffany finally began a new life and realized that she was worth every bit of respect; she met a man that truly respects her and is happy now.

Parents do not realize the affect they can have on their Childs future by their own actions, it can cause them to make decisions they never thought they would make. Tiffany didn’t know any better than what she was taught and the things that she saw, but she knew that her life could be better she just didn’t know how to get out of her situation.

I have  had my own personal experience with being abused as a kid and it was very hard to deal with. Growing up it wasn’t the so called “perfect” childhood my mom was never home and the house was never clean. I was never sexually abused but the emotional abuse did just as much damage, and the neglect of feeling loved was tearing me apart. I had plenty of family members to help out but instead they kept to themselves, they didn’t want to be involved they thought it was none of their business. 

The world has made people think that child abuse is okay, it is so common now days that when it happens no one reports it. My own family never reported what was going on in my life till it finally got to the point child services stepped in. It’s not easy trying to forget my past, but I never let it get in the way of who I knew I could become. There is millions of kids that are abused and they let it get to them mentally, some tend to take their bad childhood out either doing the same to their own kids or let it take toll on how they live there life.

Most people who are abusive to their children are most likely to always be abusive; no matter if they say they will stop it is always going to be difficult for them to. Most of the time it is because they have it mentally stuck in their head that it is okay and that they are not doing anything wrong. It is what they either grew up dealing with themselves or they let the struggle of their own emotional health take control on their ability to handle their anger.

Do you ever think about what is going through the kids mind when they are being hit, sexually abused, or emotionally abused? Some may not notice what’s going on in those kids life’s yet but eventually you will the next time you hear about a kid committing suicide, or a child killed by their parents. We need to make sure we do our best to help those that are dealing with abuse, make them know they matter. Child abuse is serious and people need to start taking it serious now.