What Everyone Should Know About Child Abuse….
What is Child Abuse?
Child Abuse is defined as an injury or a pattern of injuries to a child that is non-accidental. Child abuse includes non-accidental physical injury, physical neglect, sexual abuse and emotional abuse. CHILD ABUSE IS AGAINST THE LAW.
Physical Abuse is any non-accidental physical injury to a child caused by a patent or caregiver which results in or threatens serious injury. Often, parents who physically abuse their children do not intend to seriously injure them but get carried away by anger and frustration in their own lives.
Neglect is the failure of a parent or guardian to provide a child with adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, education or supervision. Neglect is a chronic problem often resulting not from poverty, but from lack of parental knowledge as to the proper care required by children.
Sexual Abuse is any physical contact with a child by an adult or older child in a position of power over the child for the sexual gratification of the adult or older child. Threats or coercion are almost always present. Other terms for sexual abuse include child molestation, incest (if the abuser is a member of the child’s family), or child pornography. Usually the child knows the abuser.
Emotional Abuse is an important factor in all forms of child abuse and can also be abuse in and of itself. Sometimes emotional abuse is not what a parent does but what a parent does not do, such as failure to provide understanding and nurturing necessary for the child’s healthy psychological growth and development.
Verbal Abuse is the use of words that threaten, harshly criticize, ridicule, or harass a child.
If you are a parent or caregiver who needs help or if you know a parent who needs help, call PARENT HELPLINE at 1-800-432-9251