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Child Abuse What is child abuse? According to the National Child Abuse Hotline, child abuse consists of any act of commission or omission that endangers or impairs a childs physical or emotional health and development. Child abuse includes any damage caused to a child, which cannot be reasonably explained and which is often symbolized by an injury or series of injuries appearing to be non-accidental in nature. Every year, more than three million accounts of child maltreatment are caused in the United States affecting more than six million children. The United States accepts the highest record of child abuse among all industrialized nations, turning a loss on average four to seven children a day (Childhelp-USA). There are many cases of child abuse; it changes from physical abuse, sexual misuse, and even emotional abuse. Case subjects and data prove that often time the different types of child abuse comes from ineffective discipline methods Physical abuse is intentional infliction of physical injury and may involve hitting, whipping, pinching, biting, punching, kicking, burning, pushing, beating, or shaking. In 2011 there were 681,000 cases of child maltreatment substantiated by child protective service (CPS) agencies in the U.S.; 17.6% of these cases were classified as physical abuse. Of substantiated cases of child physical abuse, 24%involved children aged < 12 years, 16% involved children aged 35 years, 17% involved children aged 68 years,14% involved children aged 911 years, 15% involved aged 1214 years, and 13% involved children aged1517 years. A recent case was done by child protective services, where an American mother beats her daughter with an iron. The daughter was on drugs, ran away from home, and was sleeping with an unknown man. The mother felt the only way to discipline her daughter was to physically abuse her. This is an example of how most parents do not know that there are different discipline

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methods that does not involve physical hitting a child. The mother and daughter could have resolved the problem by communicating with each other and compromising. Many times, physical abuse results from inappropriate or excessive physical discipline. A parent or guardian may be unaware of the strength in which they hit their child. Parents and guardians can also suffer with problems that can contribute to child abuse. These problems consists of: immaturity, lack of parenting skills, poor childhood experiences and social isolation, as well as frequent crisis situations, drug or alcohol problems and domestic violence. It is valid to argue that children can be boisterous and need punishment for their bad behavior; however, there are safer and more effective methods than beating a child to death. According to the Suzuki Association of the Americas, there are twenty-five non- abusive methods that can be used when disciplining a child. Some are teaching a child what is accepted of them, using timeouts procedures and taking away privileges. First, disciplining a child starts at home with the parents or guardians. They must define boundaries with their child, to let them know whats acceptable and whats not. Children need to be taught how it is expected for them to behave. Most parents think that a child automatically knows what it is required of them, but that is not the case. Children need wisdom and guidance from their parents to grow into better human beings. Second, time-out procedures can be effective as well, but for this method to work, the parent/guardian must stay firm. A child is taken and put in an area where they are alone, before leaving the room parents should explain to the child what they did wrong. The child needs to know this, so they know not to do it again. If the bad behavior is constant keep the child in time-out until it does change. As the parent/guardian, it is your job to be assertive and let the child know that you are in charge.

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Lastly, removing privileges can force a child to change their attitude. Removing away something that a child enjoys as a punishment may eventually alter their behavior for good. An example would be taking away a television from a child after being disobedient. The child would not want this punishment and the child may begin to behave in the correct manner. In America, there has been a lot of debate about whether or not spanking is effective in disciplining a child or not. According to Dr. Stern she thinks that the spanking method does not change the child behavior Any parent might sometimes entertain the thought of a "quick fix" for exasperating behavior, but in the long run it's best for parents to avoid spanking their children. First of all, spanking doesn't work. It can temporarily stop the unwanted behavior, but the most effective forms of discipline are those that teach children how to control their behavior through internal measures. Spanking may teach your child to be afraid of you when she's done something wrong, but it doesn't teach her the real consequences of her behavior, or even how to control it. (Loraine M. Stern, MD, FAAP) Spanking can teach your child that hitting is an ok thing to do when in all it is not, only because one should not put their hands on another person. No parent/guardian really wants to send that type of message to their child. Hitting children can send them the message that violence is solves problems. Parents/Guardians are children mentors, they must set the example. If a child sees an adult participating in a harmful act, they may feel that it is fine for them doing it as well. Some studies have shown that once parents who have spanked their children express regret afterward and wish they had tried some other method of discipline. Every type of disobedience can be an opportunity to teach a child how to exist with others or how to get what the child wants or needs without resorting to physical abuse. However, some Americans do believe in spanking their children; they believe that it

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teaches a child respect and obedience. There are two different types of kids, the ones that are timid and ones that like to push their parents limit. As a parent, it is your job to know what type of child he/she is, so the parent can know how to discipline them. Children, that likes to push limits, need to be spanked to be shown that you all, the parents, are not to be disrespected or taken lightly by the child. The difference between spanking and abuse is impulsive spanking did out of anger and frustration is abuse, not spanking because of a child's wrongdoing. As adults it is important to remember that kids will be kids. Children can be noisy, disrespectful, and destructive. They will break things, interrupt adults, track mud through the house, not clean their rooms, and argue with you on every issue. Children will inevitably do things that may make their parents feel irritated, frustrated, disappointed and angry. Changing a childs behavior is not easy. However, children should not be disciplined through violence. It is better to deny children, privileges when they do something unacceptable, as well as reward them when they do something good. This teaches children that there are consequences for their actions. Physical abuse is only one type of abuse; another type of abuse that affects children is sexual abuse. According to the United States Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, it defines sexual abuse as the use, persuasion, or coercion of any child to engage in sexually explicit conduct or any simulation of such conduct for producing a visual depiction of such conduct; or rape, molestation, prostitution, or incest with children. One in three girls and one in six boys are sexually abused before the age of 18. One in 5 youth received a sexual approach or solicitation over the Internet in the past year. The average age for first abuse is 9.9 years for boys and 9.6 years for girls. Abuse typically occurs within a long-term, on-going relationship between the offender and victim, escalates over time and lasts an average of four years. Many

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child sexual abuse victims never disclose their abuse to anyone. Less than 10% of child sexual abuse is reported to the police. Child sexual abuse cases are often not prosecuted because of poor evidential quality. A study was given to 19 trails prosecutors before and after trials on child sexual abuse cases. The study showed that three broad improvements are needed to make sure that the victim receives justice. They are, the need for lighter focus on the elements of the offense, better clarification of inconsistencies, and ambiguities in the account and greater consideration of how the child presents in the eyes of the jury (Barrows Kinberlee Shannon, and Martine Bowell). According to Shannon and Bowell these three improvements will help future child sexual abuse victims receive justice and the criminals be put to justice. In most cases, the perpetrator is male that the child knows personally, regardless of whether the victim is a boy or girl. In case history heterosexual and gay men are equally likely to sexually abuse children. Even though there is data supporting this that does not mean that it is true for all gay men. Saying that gay men are sexual abusers without having evidence is a harm stereotype that gay people despise. If a child is being physically or sexually abused, he or she may be emotionally abused as well. Emotional abuse is the second most common reason for a child to be put on the child protection register or made subject to a child protection plan. There are factors of emotional abuse in all child abuse, but emotional abuse can also have serious long-term consequences for a child when it is the only form of abuse. Emotional abuse is a form of behavior that disturbs a childs emotional, psychological and social development and sense of self-esteem. This may include constant criticism, threats, withholding affection, and negligence. An adult may not be able to recognize emotional abuse by

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physical signs, but a child will react very strongly through their emotions. Some of the signs an emotionally abused child may display, low self-esteem, severe depression, aggression, withdrawal, and severe anxiety. Unlike physical abuse, the people doing it and receiving it may not even know it is happening. Emotional abuse can be more harmful than physical abuse because it can undermine what we think about ourselves. This type of abuse can affect a child mental stability. Children will begin to think that they are not worthy of life and can begin to have thoughts of suicide. Emotional abuse can happen between parent and child, husband and wife, among relatives and between friends. Most people are emotional abuser because of a continuous cycle that has been going from generation to generation in their family. The abuser usually behaves in rude and hurtful manner because they themselves have not dealt with childhood wounds that are now causing them to harm others. Emotional abuse can, and does, happen in all types of families, regardless of their background. Most parents want the best for their children. However, some parents may emotionally and psychologically harm their children because of stress, poor parenting skills, social isolation, and lack of available resources or inappropriate expectations of their children. They may emotionally abuse their children because the parents or caregivers were emotionally abused themselves as children. Most of the people who are emotionally abused tend to have lifelong problems. Individuals who experience childhood abuse are three to four times more likely to develop major depression in their lifetime (MacMillan et al., 2001). Bernet and Stein (1999) found that adults with major depression were significantly more likely to have a history of emotional abuse neglect and physical abuse compared with healthy adults. In addition, those who experienced

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early childhood abuse had earlier onset, longer duration, more severe symptoms, greater impairment, and more episodes of depression (Klein et al., 2009; Bernet & Stein, 1999). Emotional abuse affects a child's emotional, mental and behavioral well-being. Even adults who were abused as children can display these signs. Children who display these signs have a greater chance of getting in trouble or being arrested as they get older. According to HelpGuide.org, 1 of every 3 children who were raised in an abusive or neglectful home will grow up to become an abusive parent. Emotional abuse can be the start of a continuing cycle for families for generation after generation. In conclusion, child physical, sexual, and emotional abuse is detrimental .Parents and guardians have to be patient when it comes to disciplining children. Children have to be taught right from wrong. No abuse is the answer when parenting a child. As stated above, there are different methods that can help parents discipline their children. It is wisely suggested that parents use these methods to assist their child in growing up in a safe environment. Every child is special in their own unique way, abusing a child can destroy their self-esteem, their pride, and their ability to do great things in the future.

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Work Citied

"Alternatives to Spanking." Parents Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Bogdanos, M. "Signs of Emotional Abuse | World of Psychology." Psych Central.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. "Child Physical Abuse." American Humane Association | Home. N. p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. Pinto, S, and T Schub.Child abuse, physical (United States). (2014):CINAHLPlus with Full Text. Web. 25 Mar. 2014 Shapero, Benjamin G., et al. Stressful Life Events And Depression Symptoms: The Effect Of Childhood Emotional Abuse on Stress Reactivity. Journal of Clinical Physchology 70.3 (2014): 209-223. Academic Search Complete. Web.26 Mar.2014. Sukuki Association. N.p., Web. <https://suzukiassociation.org/news/25-nonviolent-disciplineoptions/>. "What is Child Abuse | Childhelp." Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse | Childhelp.N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.

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