In this article, "Child Abuse and Neglect Causes, Symptoms and Treatment", author Healthwise Staff tells about what child abuse and neglect are, what the types of child abuse and neglect are, what you should do if you know about a child being abused or neglected, how you can prevent child abuse and neglect, and what you should do if your scared someone might harm your child. The author states that a child being abused or neglected often think it is their fault because they dont know any better. Both child abuse and neglect are is any acts that harm a child. Some types of child abuse are physical abuse, which is were the parent may kick, spit on, throw them, cut, punch break their bones, and physically harm their child in any way. Emotional abuse, is when parents make their children feel unsafe by threatening them, calling them names, or making them feel unloved. Sexual abuse is any type of sexual contact between a child and an adult. Another type of child abuse is neglect which is were a child does not get the clothing, schooling, shelter, medical care and so on that they need. If you think you know a child that is being abused you need to call the local police and report it. But if you are an abused child yourself you need to tell someone you can trust will get something done about it as soon as possible. If you are scared that someone may hurt your child, you need to call 911 and get youself and your child to a safe place as soon as possible. When it comes to helping get rid of or preventing child abuse you first need to learn the signs and symptoms and not being scared to step in when its needed. The author wrote this text to help inform and educate the readers of types of abuse and what types of signs and warning to look for if your scared you might know a victim of child abuse. The readers should care because if they think a child is being abused its important for them to know the warning signs and what to do to step in and make a difference.
Staff, Healthwise."Child Abuse and Neglect Causes, Symptoms and Treatment."everydayhealth.com. 10 Dec 2010. 14 Oct 2012.<http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-center/child-abuse-and-neglect.aspx>.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Article 2: What causes "parents" to abuse their children?
In this article, "What causes parents to abuse their children", author Mary Bauer talks about some of the reasons for parents abusing their children. Such as the parents childhood, unrealistic expectations, lack of support, alcohol and drug abuse, and emotional disorders. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that state and local authorities investigated 3.7 million cases of suspected child abuse in 2008. Parents who grew up as abused children are more then likely to also abuse their children because of the family model they had while growing up. If anyone you know suffered from child abuse as a child and is now doing the same to their children recommend parenting classes and therapy. It can help teach them new ways to deal with the stressful aspects of raising children. Parents with unrealistic expectations are often surprised at exactly how much attention and care their child actually may need. This is more often found true for teen parents. Oregon State University Extension Service points out that parents also may become abusive if they have a child who is handicapped or difficult to handle because he or she then requires even more time and attention than what they expected. Caregiver support groups, therapy and parenting classes would be helpful to these type of parents. Parents with lack of support from family, and friends may be more likely to abuse their children often because they get stressed or overwhelmed with the day to day expectations and needs of their children. For these specific types of parents they might want to consider or look into hotlines which are usually available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These types of hotlines may be helpful for parents who just need someone to talk to. Something else that also may be very helpful to these types of parents is emergency shelters. Emergency shelters offer the parents the option to drop off their children for a while, when they feel they can't cope with them. Parents who do or deal with alcohol or drug abuse are three times more likely to abuse their children and four times more likely to neglect them. Parents who have emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder or other mental illnesses are less able to cope with the stresses of parenting and may be more likely to abuse their children. The author states that parents with these types of disorders have trouble caring for themselves and are even less able to take care of others. The authors purpose of writing this text is to educate others of reasons as to why parents abuse their children. Weather it be the parents fault or something the parent can not control. Mary Bauer's work is important because she extends the facts by telling about what type of help the parents could get for specific types or reasons for them abusing their child. Readers should care because if they know someone who acts out any of the characteristics above they should know how to react in such a situation.
Bauer, Mary. "What Causes Parents to Abuse Their Child."livestrong.com. 7 June 2010. 14 Oct 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/142315-what-causes-parents-abuse-their-child/>.
Bauer, Mary. "What Causes Parents to Abuse Their Child."livestrong.com. 7 June 2010. 14 Oct 2012. <http://www.livestrong.com/article/142315-what-causes-parents-abuse-their-child/>.
Article 1: Recognizing and Preventing child abuse
In this article, "Recognizing and Preventing child abuse", Melinda Smith and Jeanne Sega, talk about the myths of child abuse, how to understand child abuse and neglect, the effects of child abuse and neglect on children, types of child abuse, the warning signs and so much more. Facts have stated that abused children are more likely to repeat the cycle as adults, unknowingly repeating what they experienced as children. The author states that the results of being an abused child can cause lack of trust and relationship difficulties, trouble regulating emotions, and feeling "worthless" and "damaged". They then went into further detail explaining that growing up with trust and relationship difficulties cause the children to grow up thinking to themselves, if I can't trust my parents, then who can I trust. The problem with them not being able to regulate their emotions is caused from having to hold everything inside for so long, which could also cause them to lean towards drugs or alcohol when they get older, because it gives them that "numbing" feeling. As an abused child being told that you are "worthless", "stupid", and that you "can't" and "won't" ever amount to something in your life takes its tole on you, and once you've heard it so many times it makes it hard for you not to believe .. "Could this be true?" This causes many abused children to have very low self-esteem and not have the mind set to strive to do good in school or get a good job because they feel they "can't do it" or "don't deserve it." Some of the most common ways to tell if a child is being abused physically is frequent bruises, welts, and cuts. They are always waiting for something bad to happen. Flinch to sudden movement, or seems scared to go home. They will also wear odd clothing such as a long sleve shirt on a hot day. Some signs of a child being sexually abused is trouble walking or sitting, runs away from home, takes interest in sexual acts at an inappropriate age, and will make strong efforts to avoid or stay away from a specific person. Signs of an neglected child are filthy clothes, almost always late or missing from school, frequently left alone, and bad hygiene such as unbathed, matted unwashed hair, and so on. Emotionally abused children are often scared of being wrong, shows extremes in behavior, and won't seem as attached to their parent or gardian. The authors purpose for writing this text is to inform those who don't know about child abuse, or to let those who do know about child abuse, just how serious it really is. Melinda Smith and Jeanne Sega's work is important because it extends the knowledge of child abuse and its warning signs.
Smith, Melinda. Sega, Jeanne."Recognizing and Preventing child abuse."Helpguide.org. July 2012. 14 Oct 2012.<http://helpguide.org/mental/child_abuse_physical_emotional_sexual_neglect.htm>.
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