It's hard to imagine someone intentionally hurting a child,
yet nearly a million children are abused every year just in the United States
alone. And these are only the reported incidents of child abuse — many more
cases are unreported and undetected, often because children are afraid to tell
somebody who can help.
Most of the time, kids know their abusers and the abuse
occurs in the home. This makes it difficult for kids to speak up. They may feel
trapped by the affection they feel for their abusers or fearful of the power
the abusers have over them — so they stay silent. That's why it's especially
important to be able to recognize the signs of child abuse.
What Is Child Abuse?
Child abuse happens when a parent or other adult causes
serious physical or emotional harm to a child.
In the United States, the laws defining what constitutes
child abuse vary from state to state, but generally speaking, child abuse can
take these forms:
- physical abuse
- sexual abuse
- neglect and abandonment
- emotional or psychological abuse
The most serious cases of child abuse can end in death.
Those who survive may suffer emotional scars that can linger long after the
physical bruises have healed. Kids who are abused are more likely to have
problems building and maintaining relationships throughout their lives. They're
also more likely to have low self-esteem, depression, thoughts of suicide, and
other mental health issues.
Physical Abuse
When people think of child abuse, their first thought
probably is of physical abuse — such as striking, kicking, or shaking a child.
Abusive head trauma, or shaken baby syndrome, is a specific
form of physical abuse. It's the leading cause of death in child abuse cases in
the U.S. Most incidents last just a few seconds, but that's enough time to
cause brain damage or even kill a baby.
Sexual Abuse
Sexual abuse happens when a child is raped or forced to
commit a sexual act. But it's also any sort of sexual contact with a child or
any behavior that is meant to sexually arouse the abuser.
Neglect
Neglect is any action — or inaction — on the part of a
caregiver that causes a child physical or emotional harm. For example,
withholding food, warmth in cold weather, or proper housing is considered
neglectful. Basically, anything that interferes with a child's growth and
development constitutes neglect.
Emotional Abuse
Emotional abuse or psychological abuse is a pattern of
behavior that has negative effects on a child's emotional development and sense
of self-worth. Ignoring a child or withholding love, support, or guidance is
considered emotional abuse. So is threatening, terrorizing, belittling, or
constantly criticizing a child.
Signs of Abuse
It's sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the
ordinary scrapes and scratches of childhood and a physical sign of child abuse.
Multiple bruises or those that keep coming back, black eyes, and broken bones
are certainly red flags, but other signs — like a child's emotional health —
are also telling.
If You Suspect Abuse
Abuse is not a private family matter, although it most often
occurs within families and often is kept as a family secret. Once you suspect
child abuse, you need to act to protect the child from further possible harm.
It doesn't matter if you're wrong: it's better to be wrong than sorry.
While not all suspicions and accusations of child abuse turn
out to be true, all deserve serious attention and immediate action. Child abuse
can rob kids of the joy of growing up and affect them negatively for years to
come.
But abuse doesn't have to ruin a child's life, as long as
it's stopped and dealt with. The earlier abuse can be identified and stopped,
the less destructive it will be. Healing from the abuse and dealing with its
aftermath can also start that much earlier.
So take any accusations of abuse seriously until you know
for sure whether or not they're true. All children deserve to be heard,
protected, and helped, no matter what.
If you made it to the end of this article-thank you. It’s so easy to gloss over information about
child abuse. It’s often hard to hear,
and hard to think about when you feel powerless to help. But rest assured, there are children in your
child’s school, in your neighborhood, in your community and possibly even in
your family being permanently altered by the abusive behaviors of an adult. Sadly, statistics tell us this person is no
stranger to the child, but someone brought into their circle as a trusted
member of their family circle.
Source: Kids Health
