Why Do Parents Abuse Their Children? Essay

Child abuse can be a very touchy subject. Some say parents do it because they want their child to listen and follow their rules. Others say that they would never hurt a person because it can cause physical and mental problems that could last a lifetime. With this debate you will see the critics and supporters side of what they think about abuse and what it can do. Most parents who abuse their child don’t realize that its abuse. They believe it’s a different form of discipline that is working to get their child to follow the rules they have set. Child Abuse supporters and critics have their reasons why they agree and disagree with it and what it can do later in their child's life.

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves.

“The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act” states’ that “child abuse is the leading cause of death in children under the age of eighteen.” Child abuse occurs when adults inflict violence and cruelty upon children. Abuse is any willful act that results in physical, mental, or sexual injury that causes or is likely to cause the child to be physically, mental, or emotionally impaired. Abuse happens to children of any age, sex, race, religion, and social status.

Abuse can come in many different forms such as verbal, physical, and sexual. Each of these can affect a person differently, and sadly even become hereditary. A factor that causes abuse to be so lethal is that the majority of the time it is directed towards children. At a young age, the brain is extremely impressionable and that is why something like verbal abuse can cause so much damage. “Parents who tell their children that they are dumb, bad, etc., raise children who think they are dumb or bad and act as

Child abuse is more than bruises and broken bones. While physical abuse might be the most visible, other types of abuse, such as emotional abuse and neglect, also leave deep, lasting scars. (Help guide.org). The earlier abused children get help, the greater chance they have to heal and break the cycle—rather than perpetuating it. There is a myth that only bad people abuse their children. (Help guide.org) But the fact is while it 's easy to say that only "bad people" abuse their children, it 's not always so black and white. Not all abusers are intentionally harming their children. Many have been victims of abuse themselves, and don’t know any other way to parent. Others may be struggling with mental health issues or a substance abuse

Most parents and other caregivers do not intend to hurt their children, but abuse is defined by the effect on the child, not the motivation of the parents or caregiver.Tens of thousands of children each year are traumatized by physical, sexual, and emotional abusers or by caregivers who neglect them.Child abuse as common as it is shocking. Most of us can’t imagine what would make an adult use violence against a child, and the worse the behavior is, the more unimaginable it seems. But the incidence of parents and other caregivers consciously, even willfully, committing acts that harm the very children they’re supposed to be nurturing is a sad fact of human society that cuts

The subject of victimization and childhood trauma and neglect, especially sexual victimization is in desperate need of additional awareness despite the increase in the research literature over the past three decades. Youth who experience any form of victimization, whether it be sexual, emotional, and/or physical throughout their childhood are known to have difficulties in their childhood and adolescent development (McCuish, Cale & Corrado, 2015). The abuse they experience can be from their caregivers, sexual victimization by acquaintances and strangers, assaults by peers and can be exposed to violence in their neighborhoods (Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner and Holt, 2009).

Child abuse is the intentional omission of care by a parent or guardian that can cause a

A vulnerable adult is someone aged 18 or over who may receive community care services because of a disability, age or illness, or may be unable to take care of themselves or protect themselves against significant harm or exploitation. Older people are especially vulnerable, for example those with health issues who are unwell, confused and unable to stand up for themselves due to how frail they are. Because of their defencelessness and vulnerability elderly people are more at risk to abuse. Other vulnerable adults include people who are open to abuse because of learning difficulties, physical disabilities or mental illness. Those with learning difficulties may be taken

There are certain demographics that are more prone to child abuse. Lower income families and young single mothers are the most likely to have child abuse in the home. This is due to the levels of stress in these types of families. When a person gets too stressed, and is not given the proper tools and resources to let that stress out, naturally it goes to a person that is close to them. Most of the time it is the children, all it takes is for the child to do something small, it can be something natural such as crying for no apparent reason as children often do, to take the abuser from simply over stressed to their breaking point.

There’s many reasons why a parent might abuse their child, whether it’s because of a substance abuse or just their way of correcting their children . Children will not understand that not everyone will treat them the way that their abuse parents treated them.

Child abuse and neglect does not only cause physical pain such as bruises and scrapes; it can also cause psychological pain that can lead to anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem (Effects of Child Abuse...). Such affects as these cause children to feel as if they are worthless. As said by the Joyful Heart Foundation, feelings of unworthiness can lead to self-harm, criminal activity, alcohol and drug use, etc. When kids feel worthless they tend to isolate themselves from the people around them. If children are so important for the future of the world, why does child abuse occur so frequently?

Although all therapists are aware of the childhood emotional abuse issue, it is possible that only few therapists understand the scope of the issue. Emotional maltreatment is harder to detect than other forms of abuse because it is more subtle. When Child Protective Services (CPS) conduct family assessments, it is the hardest form of abuse to prove because parents are very open about the topic and emotional abuse does not leave any physical evidence behind. However, it certainly influences a child's self-esteem, promotes the feeling of guilt, insecurity, and creates the inability to form stable relationships during adulthood. Although some behavioral disorders are related to emotional abuse, it is not possible to predict it correctly

Think about your childhood, coming home from school, going to practice, and then eating dinner with your family, and your parents coming tucking you into bed and kissing you to bed. The sad truth is that not everyone gets to have that ideal childhood according to the American Society for Positive Care for Children there were 7.2 million reported child abuse cases last year. Tiffany Sharples wrote in Time Magazine last year 9 out of 10 child abuse cases go unreported.  Abuse does not only affect children physically but it's also detrimental impact on the child's mental health causing long lasting mental health problems.

Although there are no acceptable answers, ideas and reasons have been brought up over time to justify ones act of physical child abuse. Many justifications are results of instability in a parental figures livelihood.