Children Are Affected By Child Abuse

Children are our future. They will shape future generations to come and the way our society deals with difficulties. One difficulty that is currently being addressed is child neglect. Child neglect is the most prevalent form of child maltreatment (Sedlak et al 2010). Neglect includes physical neglect, emotional neglect, medical neglect and educational neglect. Although there may or may not be physical symptoms, neglect may be harder to identify right away. Neglect is often referred to as an act of omission as the parent or caregiver does not intentionally cause harm to the child, but the absence of care puts the child at risk of harm (Sedlak et al 2010). In 2007, the cost of child abuse and neglect was $103.8 billion, which includes immediate

Neglect is the failure to meet a child’s basic physical and or psychological needs, which is likely to affect the child’s health or development. Neglect is when a parent or carer fails to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment), medical care, or protection from physical and emotional harm or danger. Additionally failure to ensure access to education or to look after a child because the carer is under the influence of alcohol or drugs, is considered as Neglect.

One of the biggest problems children deal with, especially younger ones is child abuse. “In 2009, the child protective services across the country received 3.3 million reports of child abuse. The farther the child protective services would investigate they discovered more than 700,000 children that had been abused or mistreated.” (Kauchak and Eggen 51) The U.S Congress in the Family Services Act of 1988 came up with a definition of all types of abuse. (Mufson and Kranz 26) There is neglect, emotional, sexua, and physical abuse. “Over than 78% of abuse victims suffer from neglect. About 1/5 were physically abused, and about 10% were victims of sexual abuse.” (Kauchak and Eggen 51)

Neglect: parents who cannot meet a child’s basic daily needs such as; hygiene, hunger, clothing and shelter. This can cause the child’s health to worsen and for their development to suffer. The child can also be left with people who cannot properly care for them. Signs and symptoms:

Once a child is born, neglect may involve a parent or carer failing to: â—• provide adequate food, clothing and shelter (including exclusion from home or abandonment); â—• protect a child from physical and emotional harm or danger; â—• ensure adequate supervision (including the use of inadequate care- givers); or â—• ensure access to appropriate medical care or treatment. It may also include neglect of, or unresponsiveness to, a childâ€TMs basic emotional

Neglect is the persistent failure to meet an individual’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, likely to result in serious impairment of the individual’s health or development, such as failing to provide adequate food, shelter and clothing.

health. This includes yelling, depression, name-calling, and lack of affection. Neglect is failure to provide for a child 's physical needs, which includes extreme hunger, lack of supervision, abandonment, and denial of medical attention.

Physical/Emotional neglect is the failure to provide a child with basic needs, including adequate food, shelter, clothing, or necessary medical care. Neglect also exist when an adult fails to provide adequate supervision of a child as when a child is left either unsupervised or in the care of someone unable to supervise the child. Furthermore, neglect occurs when a person creates a substantial risk of physical injury to a child by other than accidental means which would be likely to cause death, disfigurement, impairment of physical or emotional health, or loss or impairment of any bodily function

Child neglect includes inadequate supervision and physical, emotional, medical, and educational neglect. Physical neglect includes not taking care of a child by not providing a proper amount of food and drink, not making sure a child has adequate hygiene, and exposing a child to unsafe environments (“What is Child Abuse”). Emotional neglect occurs when affection and emotional support for a child is ignored, and this is typically shown in the isolation of a child from friends and family. Parents and caregivers are required to provide medical treatment to their children, and therefore, when that need is disregarded, it is deemed to be medical neglect. Parents have an obligation to their children to make sure that they have all the tools for academic success, so when a child is not enrolled in school or misses too much of school, their education is neglected.

Failure as a parent or caretaker to provide the essential needs of a child is considered as child neglect and can result in psychological, emotional, and in some cases educational harm. When this happens, children are highly likely to experience reduced mental functioning that could cause the child's life to be dysfunctional.

Neglect happens when a parent or caregiver does not adhere to parental and care giving obligations, which includes the physical, emotional, and educational well being of their child. Poor nutrition effects physical and psychological development. If proper nutrients are not provided during growth periods this will affect physical growth. Stunted growth, chronic medical conditions, inadequate bone and muscle growth and neurological development are all affects of poor nutrition. Additionally, brain-processing problems make it difficult for children to understand social relationships, understand direction and understand academic tasks. Neglect is also linked to mental health problems such as, depression and anxiety. Studies found that children who reported a history of childhood neglect were three times more likely to suffer from depression than children who were not maltreated. In conclusion, neglect poses severe and life altering consequences and can even result in death.

“Child neglect is the most prevalent, but least empirically studied, form of child maltreatment” (De Bellis, 2005). Perhaps because is lacks the obvious physical effects present with abuse, it is often overshadowed. Neglect can be defined as, “the failure by the caregiver to provide needed age appropriate care,” that addresses the child’s physical

Providing clothing, housing, food and health care to a child is the responsibility of the caregiver/ parent. It is considered neglect when these basic necessities are not provided. However, neglect is characterized by more aspects than this; parent can also show emotional neglect, educational neglect and environmental neglect by failing to do acts such as nurturing and supporting a child, providing educational opportunities and not ensuring a safe environment. (Dubowitz, Pitts, & Black,

Firstly, many people are aware that child maltreatment includes physical, sexual and emotional abuse, but some are unaware that neglect is also included in its definition. Any form of abuse of a child has detrimental effects that can last throughout their life. Physical abuse is any unwonted physical connection that occurs with the intent on harming the child like hitting, punching, burning or kicking. Sexual abuse is any form of inappropriate sexual acts towards the child, which can include just touching or taking photographs. Emotional abuse is the act of hurting a child emotionally with words, taunts or just exposure to behavior that affects them mentally. Finally, neglect is when a parent or guardian withholds or does not provide all the things the child needs to live, like food, clothing and shelter. All of these are forms of maltreatment, which are all dangerous for a child

Pennsylvania describes emotional abuse as an action or failure to act that leads to a mental injury of a child (Clark 352). It also includes refusing to give a child his/her treatment for medical illnesses. Emotional abuse interferes with a child's ability to develop at the pace of their age level. Emotional abuse victims tend to receive a limited or lack of attention or affection. They are also compared to others in a negative way, constantly bombarded with insults and humiliation. Emotional abuse also includes allowing others to verbally abuse the child (Smith and Segal 2). Pennsylvania defines neglect as the lack of parental care or supervision for long periods of time (Clark 351). It also consist of keeping a prescribed medicine from the child (Rein 11-12). Parents may fail to provide essentials of life such as: nutrition, shelter, clothing, education, safety, and medical needs (Clark 185-190). Neglect occurs within a family and often to young children not old enough to speak. Signs of neglect