Child Abuse

Child abuse and neglect is a social concern throughout the nation, with momentous implications for those children who are affected, their families, and society at large. One of those necessary steps is to devise an effectual response and reasonable classification of the problem. People should achieve and have clarity in the area of child abuse and neglect specifically for those who work in the field of protective service and juvenile justice system. It has been a constant challenge especially in New Mexico which ranks number four in the country for child abuse and neglect.

Child abuse and neglect can vary across the nation, this consist of standards of how the states deal with the abuse, determining the rate of recurrence of the abuse, the occurrence rate in hospitals or how many times police officers are called to the home for domestic violence or child abuse.

There are those substantial obstacles for child services which can get in the way of the learning process about the experiences of children, especially young children, with caregiver-inflicted abuse or neglect. People not reporting incidents or parents not willing to participate in healing or accepting help is one of the many challenges social services faces every day. As a result, the characteristics of the problem and determinations of its scope will be different from case to case.

This challenge for social workers of the abused/abuser continues to impede our full understanding of the nature of child abuse and the neglect problem by parents or a caregiver. The issue of child abuse continues to be challenging, even with the advances that have been made at child services. These advancements include helping those abused and the abuser, being able to find a support system that works for the parents or victims in need, along with helping with other issues. The way child services helps is by helping those with a drug abuse problem, alcoholism or help those who they themselves have been abused as children.

Many times, underreporting instances of child abuse and neglect, leads to how cases are determined by medical and mental health professionals and the legal system. Generally, people who do not report the parents or care givers of abuse can lead to more serious injuries or even death of a child.

Child abuse predates human records. Even so, societies has recently come to recognize its significance. It can occur outside the regions, schools. The largest of it takes to spot in the home environment and is prompted by other family members. Child abuse occurs in several forms of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse. Child neglect assumes the form of emotional neglect similar failure to show a child love and affection, emotional abuse results from other forms of abuse. The true extent of child abuse is not identified, because the greatest available statistics are based on incidents reported by the abused child, social workers, teachers, and health professionals. The bulk of abused children including their, guardians never come forward because of the worry of the abusers being criticized.

Government statistics represent only a minute proportion of abused children. Polls are performed to determine the degree of child abuse, usually have methodological things, hence, their findings are not entirely trustworthy. The danger factors for child abuse include parents who have mental illnesses and abuse domestic violence. The behavior is more common in poor families whose parents are teenagers who abuse alcohol and drugs. Symptoms of child abuse can be physical and behavioral. Behavior changes indicate anxiety resulting from a stressful situation. Caregivers and teachers should regularly be alert to the signs of any form of abuse. Physical signs include unexplained wounds such as bruises, burns, and head injuries. Behavioral signs that should suggest concern include depression, nightmares, abdominal pain, headaches, stomachaches, bedwetting, abrupt declines in school performance, social withdrawal, remarkably aggressive, passive behaviors, swift increases or decreases in weight, and boost in appetite.

Child abuse and neglect have severe adverse physical and psychological consequences. Numerous abused children sustain more emotional than physical scars. They are unable to develop the skills needed to cope with life situations. As they grow older, they may misuse drugs, alcohol, refuse discipline, and abscond. In adulthood, they tend to have depression and suicidal behaviors. Younger children tend to be phonier than their older equivalents. Abused children require care. They should be managed by a pediatrician. The pediatrician treats the child for any medical injuries and provides information to investigators. Abused children should be handled by proper mental health professionals. The family of the child is normally taught so that it can provide the necessary psychological and emotional support the child lacks. If the abuse is occurring within the family environment, the child protective agency ensures that the child is placed in a safe environment. Parental feelings of stress, isolation, and frustration are the major causes of child abuse.

Parents should, therefore, be provided with the necessary assistance and knowledge on how to raise their children responsibly. They also need coaching on how to cope with their emotions of frustration. Parents who were victims of childhood abuse should seek help in confronting, addressing, and healing their old wounds. They should also be attentive to children’s reports of their school experiences and examine claims of being mistreated or abrupt changes in behavior. They should also educate children to remain away from strangers, not to go to unfamiliar places, and to say no if someone wants, them to do something against their will, and to communicate if someone troubles, them.

Parents must always have open two-way communication with their children, so that, they are free to report instances of abuse. In conclusion, child abuse may occur in various forms that are, neglect, physical, sexual abuse, psychological and emotional abuse. The true extent of child abuse is unknown due to underreporting. The risk factors for child abuse include parental depression, alcoholism, and drug. Victims of childhood abuse have unique support and treatment things, hence, they should be treated by a mental health specialist. The family should also be counseled on how to offer support to the child. The prevention of childhood abuse addresses etiological factors such as parental depression. To help stop the prevention of abuse occurring outside home contexts entail parents educating children on safe practices. Expressing interest in their child’s experiences, and establishment of open and trusting parental-child relationships.

Child abuse is when a parent or caregiver, whether through action or failing to act, causes injury, death, emotional harm or risk of serious harm to a child. There are many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, exploitation and emotional abuse.

PHYSICAL ABUSE:

Physical abuse is when a parent or caregiver causes any nonaccidental injury to a child.28.3% of adults report the physical injury as a child(childhelp.org). Physical injury includes striking, kicking, burning, biting, hair pulling, Throwing, or any other form that can cause an injury to a child.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

1. Any injury in a child who is not crawling yet.
2. visible or severe injuries.
3. Distinctive shapes or marks on a child’s body.
4. Unexplained or explained injuries that do not make sense.
5. Broken bones or dislocated joints.
6. Bruises on the child’s face, head neck, buttocks, or thighs.
7. Shows discomfort when physically contacted.
8. Burns.

BEHAVIOUR OF A PHYSICALLY ABUSED CHILD:

1. Scared of parents or other adults.
2. Aggressive towards peers, pets or other animals.
3. Fear, withdrawal, depression, anxiety.
4. Wear long sleeves out of season.
5. Nightmares.
6. Self-destructive behavior.

EMOTIONAL ABUSE:

When a parent or caregiver harms a child’s mental or social development or cause s severe emotional harm. 10.6% of adults report being emotionally harmed as a child(childhelp.org). It includes insulting, calling names, not showing love and affection towards children, blackmailing, calling them useless and so on.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

1. Delays in development.
2. Speech disorders.
3. Obesity and weight fluctuations.
4. Health issues like ulcers and skin disorders.
5. Emotionally immature behavior.
6. Low self-esteem.
7. Lack of interest in activities and socializing.

BEHAVIOUR OF A EMOTIONALLY ABUSED CHILD:

1. Behaves very immature or too mature to their age.
2. Bedwetting.
3. Too clingy or attached to a nonabusive adult.
4. Attempts to avoid certain gatherings or avoid interactions with other people.
5. Habits like sucking, biting, rocking.

SEXUAL ABUSE:

Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period. When a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and a child. Some forms of child sexual abuse include:

• Exhibitionism, or exposing oneself to a minor
• Fondling
• Intercourse
• Masturbation in the presence of a minor or forcing the minor to masturbate
• Obscene phone calls, text messages, or digital interaction
• Producing, owning, or sharing pornographic images or movies of children
• Sex of any kind with a minor, including vaginal, oral, or anal
• Sex trafficking
• Any other sexual conduct that is harmful to a child’s mental, emotional, or physical welfare.

Signs and symptoms:

• Bleeding, bruises, or swelling in genital area
• Bloody, torn, or stained underclothes
• Difficulty walking or sitting
• Frequent urinary or yeast infections
• Pain, itching, or burning in genital area.

Behavioral signs of sexual abuse in a child:

• Changes in hygiene, such as refusing to bathe or bathing excessively
• Develops phobias
• Exhibits signs of depression or post-traumatic stress disorder
• Expresses suicidal thoughts, especially in adolescents
• Has trouble in school, such as absences or drops in grades
• Inappropriate sexual knowledge or behaviors
• Nightmares or bed-wetting
• Overly protective and concerned for siblings, or assumes a caretaker role
• Returns to regressive behaviors, such as thumb sucking
• Runs away from home or school
• Shrinks away or seems threatened by physical contact.

NEGLECT:

Neglect is a type of child abuse in which parents or caregiver are failed to provide the basic necessities of life to children such as food, shelter, health and developmental facilities, clean environment and proper clothing as per the need of the children.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS:

It is hard to find out if a child is neglected but if the following signs are observed in a child then it is needed to ask the child about his problems. Often children themselves don’t know what they are going through.

1. smelly or dirty.
2. hungry or don’t have money to buy food.
3. inappropriate clothing.
4. health or dental issues untreated.
5. frequent absence from school.

Effects of neglect:

Neglect changes childhood. Children who’ve been neglected might experience short-term and long-term effects. These can include:

• Changed brain development and architecture.
• Involve in risky activities, such as running away from home, in to drugs and alcohol addiction.
• getting into dangerous relationships
• difficulty with relationships in coming life, including with their own children
• a higher risk of having psychological health problems, including depression.

REFRENCE:

• Radford, L. et al (2011) Child abuse and neglect in the UK today. London: NSPCC.
• Sources: Based on data from Department for Education, Stats Wales, Children’s Social Care Statistics (NI), and Scottish Government and Brandon, M. et al. (2013)
• Neglect and serious case reviews: a report from the university of East Anglia commissioned by NSPCC (PDF).

Gavin cares about his Job. He sees the importance of the existence and enforcements of laws. Caring about a job and feeling important helps the employee perform better. He has also learned the techniques to distance himself from the Job and how to be efficient while on the clock (1. 71-80). Those cartel’s makes a good employee Ana a good cop. By long so Gavin Decodes ten right person for the Job. B. Children all around the world is raised differently. With the different cultures that exist, will there automatically occur different viewpoints on how to raise children proper.

Some believe in non-violent negotiations and treating their children like young adults instead of kids. Others believe in the strength of corporal punishment and fear. I have never been laid a hand on by my parents. Together with their guidance I have figured out what I believe is right and wrong. I respect my parents, but not out of fear. My upraise and relationship with my parents would have been very different, if I had been raised with corporal punishment. I assume I would do what was expected of me, but without thinking for myself.

Ata certain age parents can no longer control their children by corporal punishment. The children will not have learned considering responsibility for others than themselves. They have not matured in the same way, as if they had been forced to think like adults from the beginning. Besides the level of maturity, do I don’t believe in corporal punishment. I don’t understand parents, who need to smack their children to teach them a lesson. Why not reason with their children instead and make them see what’s right and wrong and avoid having a bad conscience (if you get such).

In school I don’t believe n corporal punishment either, but in treating the students with respects or like young adults, if their age is more advanced. The school systems have an important job besides educating the children. They also have to discipline them. They teach how to interact in a society and to follow rules and norms. In the school, as like the rest of the world, a child is not irreplaceable, like it is to the parents. This makes it possible to teach the children things, that wouldn’t be possible inside the four walls at home. My way of thinking is classic Scandinavian.

In other countries were corporal enmeshment is common, would complete different arguments come up. They would argument that children needs the discipline to get most out of school and that they haven’t yet age enough to be treated like adults. Until that point would they need a strict seed of rules. But in a fast moving society like today’s, criteria are constantly changing. Children are forced to take initiative, to grow up fast and get a sense of what kind of person they want to become. An upraise with corporal punishment is becoming out aged, and will not sooner or later no longer be able to keep up with the time.

Date: 15/02/10 Title: The Geranium Text type: Short story Author: Patricia Grace This short story, ‘The Geranium’, by Patricia Grace and published 1993, is a perfect example of Battered woman syndrome and the mental effects it has on a person in this case Marney. In the geranium, the main character, Marney is a stay at home mother. She cleans intensely all day and seems rather dull. She does not leave the house even when one of the girls tells her to “come for a stretch. ” You know she is hesitant and you can feel that there is something stopping her from leaving.

There seems to be a routine of non-stop cleaning, because when her friends, Sandra and Joe, come over this doesn’t stop her from making sure things are clean, she even sets down paper to stop the floor getting dirty again. Her life is so boring that the highlight of her week is the arrival of the “paper that came on a Wednesday. ” The paper is a widow to the outside world that she is no longer able to access. Although the paper shows her all kinds of things she could do and clubs she could enter, she can’t because of a mental block built up by the continuous abuse from Bob.

The conflict becomes more clear with the return of Bob her husband. When Bob comes home he immediately starts demands what she has been doing all day. He asks questions about whether she’s been digging and cleaning and who’s been over. He is so controlling that he has to know ever little detail to make sure he does not “find out different. ” When he finds out about “The Geranium” he tells her to “chuck that thing out. ” This is a clear demonstration of his control, because Marney throws it away without question even though earlier we see that she really wanted it.

These demonstrations of Bob’s dominance show us the reason for Marney’s resistance to leave for the shops earlier and why she finds the housework so important. The conflict is resolved when Marney throws out the Geranium at Bob’s command. This part of the story is significant because it is Marney’s chance to stand up for something she wants. We see earlier in the story that the Geranium is something that she has wanted; it is something to bring some colour into her dull, boring, grey life. A bit of change to brighten her days.

But she is damaged from her abuse, and shows she has no freewill. Immediately faltering under Bob’s orders she “put it into [a] scrap bucket” as if it was of little matter to her. The “sink emptying” is her life being drained away. She watches as her life is taken away from here, because she was unable to speak up. She has let her chance slip away and has been doomed to the same dull days. I think the ideas that Patricia Grace is trying to get across is that; domestic violence isn’t all physical, that it can happen very much behind the scenes and the ways in which it can affect people.

Although we get hints that Marney is physically abused such as; when Grace mentions that Marney “would put on her cardigan to hide her arm,” and when Bob grips her arm until it hurts, we never actually get any evidence of serious physical abuse. When the Sandra and Joe come over they dress Bob up as an amazing guy compared to their drunkard partners. Bob always has the groceries, and doesn’t come home drunk all the time. But behind the scenes he is very different from the picture the girls have made. He is threatening towards Marney and extremely controlling.

He has scared into such an intense routine that she is no longer able to change that routine and is stuck to doing whatever he wants her to. This shows us that domestic violence can occur without the knowledge of the people that surrounding. Grace has showed us the way abuse can affect someone through the way Marney is. She has been so controlled by Bob that she can no longer even think for herself. She has ‘Battered Woman Syndrome’ and is completely under his control that she can not even reach out for help. These effects of her abuse show us how badly the aftermath of abuse affect someone just as bad as the abuse itself.

The thing that I didn’t enjoy about this story is the style of writing. It is written in a boring way to emphasis the way Marney’s life is, and although it serves the purpose it left me feeling uninterested. What I did like the storyline. The way in which the conflict developed. I liked the way it starts off with what seems like Marney going about a normal day and then it turns into a day that that brings forth all her abuse and problems. Mainly starting with the arrival of her friends. These developments give us a great insight into a day in the life of Marney. And it is not a pretty picture.

The understanding of the policies and procedures is that by working with hillier and young people , is that the welfare of the child is paramount , and it is the responsibility of all adults to safeguard and to promote the welfare of children and young people . Adults that work with children are responsible for their own actions , and behavior . Adults should work and be seen to work in an open and transparent way .

They should have the same professional standards regarding culture, disability , race, gender, language , religious belief and or sexual identity. Understand how to respond to evidence or concerns that a child or young person has been abused or harmed. The possible signs and symptoms , indicators and behaviors that may concern are as follows: 1: Physical Abuse , they may have unexplained marks on their body, they may hide them so no one can see.

They may make excuses for the individual that is there abuser , There could be possible signs of sexual abuse, egg by having bruising in certain areas , like around the wrists in the groin area. 2: Mental and Emotional abuse , these is where the young hill/ person may look withdrawn, may not like to deal with people and may not feel comfortable around certain people which could indicate that one of these people could be their abuser. : Isolation is another form of abuse where the individual is isolated from others, and is made to feel that they are being punished.

Child abuse is the physical or emotional abuse of a child by a parent, guardian, or other person. Reports of child abuse, including sexual abuse, beating, and murder, have jumped in the United States and some authorities believe that the number of cases is largely under reported. Child neglect is also included in legal definitions of child abuse to cover instances of malnutrition, desertion, and inadequate care of a child’s safety.

When reported, inadequate foster care services and a legal system that has trouble accommodating the suggestible nature of children, who are often developmentally unable to distinguish fact from make-believe, complicate child abuse cases During the years of 1985 and 1996, there was a 50 percent increase in reported cases of child abuse. In 1996, three million cases of child abuse are reported in the United States each year. Also that same year some twelve hundred children died from abuse across the country.

Treatment of the abuser has had only limited success and child protection agencies are overwhelmed. Recently, efforts have begun to focus on the primary prevention of child abuse. Primary prevention of child abuse must be equipped on many levels before it can be successful. Prevention, on the social level is very important and could possibly save a life. According the American Humane Association prevention should include widening the financial self-sufficiency of families, discouraging corporal punishment and other ways of violence.

Making health care more available and affordable, increasing and developing coordination of social services, evolving the identification and treatment of psychological problems, and alcohol and drug abuse, providing more affordable child care and preventing the birth of unwanted children. Prevention plans on the family level include helping parents meet their basic needs, identifying problems of substance abuse and spouse abuse, and educating parents about child behavior, discipline, safety and development.

In the case of child abuse, primary prevention is defined as any intervention designed for the purpose of preventing child abuse before it occurs. In 1993, three million children in the United States were reported to have been abused. Thirty-five percent of these cases of child abuse were confirmed. Data from various reporting sources indicates that improved reporting could lead to a significant increase in the number of cases of child abuse verified by child protection agencies. The lack of verification does not indicate that abuse did not occur, only that it could not be verified.

The facts are that each year 160,000 children suffer severe or life-threatening injury and 1,000 to 2,000 children die as a result of abuse. Of these deaths, 80 percent involve children younger than five years of age, and 40 percent involve children younger than one year of age. One out of every 20-murder victim is a child. Murder is the fourth leading cause of death in children from one to four years of age and the third leading cause of death in children from five to fourteen years of age.

Deaths from abuse are under reported and some deaths classified as the result of accident and sudden infant death syndrome might be reclassified as the result of child abuse if comprehensive investigations were more routinely done. Most child abuse takes place in the home and is started by persons are know to and trusted by the child. Even though it has been widely publicized, abuse in day-care and foster-care setting accounts for only a small number of confirmed cases of child abuse. In 1996, only two percent of all confirmed cases of child abuse occurred in these settings.

Child abuses if fifteen times more likely to occur in families where spousal abuse occurs. Children are three times more likely to be abused by their fathers than by their mothers. No differences have been found in the incidence of child abuse in rural versus urban areas. Following are the types of abuse and the percentages of the different types. Not only do children suffer from the physical and mental cruelty of child abuse; they endure many long-term consequences, including delays in reaching developmental milestones, refusal to attend school and separation anxiety disorders.

Further; consequences include an increased likelihood of future narcotic abuse, combative behavior, high-risk health behaviors, illegal activity, personality disorders. Investigations have shown that a affectionate, loving, tender and caring enjoyable environments during the first three years of a child’s life is significant for correct intellectual growth. There have been some recent changes in regards to the causes of child abuse. The results of investigation originated by the National Research Council’s Panel on Research on Child Abuse and Neglect showed the first important step away from the simple cause and effect patterns.

The panel established that the simple reason and effect patterns have certain limitations, mostly related to their narrow focus on the parents. They stated that in some families that there is cycles of abuse that is started and is carried over generations. These patterns are limited by asking only about the isolated set of personal characteristics that might cause parents to abuse their children. The panel attempted to examine the roots of child abuse, in order to find effective ways in preventing it.

The panel developed an ecological model; this model considers the origin of all forms of child abuse to be a structured process This ecological model views child abuse within a system of danger and preventive factors correlating across four different levels:

1. the person,
2. the family,
3. the neighborhood
4. the community.

Certain factors are more closely linked with some forms of abuse than others are. Many people have argued that our society does not really value its children.

This argument can be highlighted by the fact that one in four children in the United States lives in poverty and many children do not have any form of health insurance. The presence of high levels of violence in our society is also thought to contribute to child abuse. Poverty, is the most repeatedly and persistently noted risk factor for child abuse in the American society. Physical abuse and neglect are more prevalent amid the people who are the poorest. Whether or not the pressure of poverty-related conditions brings this on. Or as a result from greater observation by public agencies, resulting in over reporting is debated.

Other conditions include unreachable and unaffordable health care, broken social services and lack of help from extended families and communities. Parents who were abused, as children are more likely than other parents to abuse their own children are. Lack of parenting skills, impractical expectations about a child’s abilities, unawareness of ways to handle a child’s behavior and of typical child development, will contribute to child abuse. It is believed that forty percent of established cases of child abuse are related to substance abuse. Other factors that increase the risk of child abuse include emotional immaturity of the parents.

Which is often largely applied to age, as in the case of teenage parents. Without proper support with their child they might with struggle poor coping skills, which is often related to age but also occurring in older parents. Also they might have a poor self-esteem; also other psychological problems experienced by the young parents. A common factor is that single parenthood along with many burdens and hardships of parenting that must be handled alone, if there is no help of a partner. In many cultures social isolation of the teenage parents from family and friends that can result in the lack of support.

The United States Advisory Board on Child Abuse and Neglect has called for a universal system of early intervention. That would be grounded in the creation of caring communities that could contribute an effective base for facing the child abuse crisis. The panel stated that the successful tactics for preventing child abuse require intervention at all levels of society. The panel was unable to agree of the final plans concerning which programs or services should be offered to prevent child abuse. This is because research on the prevention of child abuse is limited by the complexity of the problem.

A broad range of programs has been developed and implemented by public and private agencies at many levels, little evidence supports the effectiveness of these programs. Principal prevention strategies are based on the risk factors that have a low value Which are not as likely to be effective as more broadly based social programs. Also, programs focused on a society level rather than on the individual level prevent the stigmatization of a group or an individual. Society strategies for preventing child abuse that are proposed but unproven include increasing the value society places on children.

Enlarging the economic self-sufficiency of families, enhancing communities and their resources, discouraging excessive use of corporal punishment and other forms of violence. Making health care more accessible and affordable. Increasing and improving treatment for alcohol and drug abuse. Developing the identification and treatment of mental health problems, increasing the availability of affordable child care and preventing the births of unwanted children through sex education, family planning, abortion, anonymous delivery and adoption. It is important to create opportunities for parents to feel entitled to act on their own behalf.

Honor the wholeness of the family. Strengthen parents’ ability to cultivate the faith in there development of their children and themselves. Create links with community support systems, a network of churches and other organizations. Provide a setting where parents and children can gather, interact, support, and learn from each other. Strengthen community awareness of the importance of healthy parenting practices. In the United States specific methods of delivering services to families include home visitations, early postpartum contact, intensive community leaders contact, parent training and free health care clinics.

It is important that help be made possible to those parents that have been identified as people with drug problems. It is critical in treating parents who abuse alcohol or drugs. Also it is important to identify and counsel parents who suffer from spousal abuse. Identifying and dealing with parents with mental health problems is also important. Yet these might not always be the soul issues for abuse; other topics need attention include economic, job-related. Providing a sensitive ear also being a resource of referrals.

That can help with these issues may take community leaders a giant step towards assisting a needy parent. Also other areas that can be addressed is the need for assistance in education and budgeting skills, stress management, coping and parenting skills such as appropriate discipline. According to the American Humane Society: only home visitation has been found to be effective in reducing the incidence of child abuse. Home visitations are now being widely embraced the concept of home visitation as a method of preventing child abuse by identifying family needs and providing the appropriate services.

Also home visitation has the benefits of improving parents’ feelings toward their children and the interactions between parents and children. The success of home visitation depends of the support of health care, social services and childcare. Some of the reasons for child abuse center on the needs of the parents. To prevent child abuse, it is important to first help and support the parents. Parents who have multiple emotional, medical, financial and social needs find it difficult to meet the needs of their children.

It is critical that community leaders develop an understanding attitude toward parents to help the children. Prevention of child abuse and negligence can be achieved using tactics pointed at helping parents protect and nurture their children. Community leaders could establish group-parenting classes to discuss issues such as: safety issues, nutrition and feeding concerns, discipline and normal child development. Classes should be divided into two groups: one for the parents of infants and one for the parents of toddlers, since these two groups will require a different focus.

Providing childcare during these classes may be necessary to ensure attendance It is also important to try to give very specific and concrete suggestions to parents instead of talking in broad generalities. Community leaders could suggest that parents use an egg timer to help children anticipate and be more compliant with bedtime or use time-out as an alternative to pking a child for bad behavior. Parents should be reminded of and taught to distinguish between childish behavior and willful disobedience.

To discipline only those actions that are in the child’s control according to the child age and development. In conclusion, many things need to happen at international, national, state and community levels to prevent child abuse. Studies have shown that countries with the most generous social services have the lowest rate of child homicide. People should lobby for greater availability of drug and alcohol treatment programs, more shelters for the homeless, more accessible mental health care and more shelters for abused women and children.

These programs and those that provide parenting skills, support groups and respite care for parents and care givers should be available in every community. Child abuse is a complex problem with many causes, it is important that people not take a defeatist attitude toward its prevention. Despite the absence of strong evidence to guide preventive efforts, society can do things to try to prevent abuse. Showing increased concern for the parents or care givers and increasing attempts to enhance their skills as parents or care givers may help save the most vulnerable people, our children, from the nightmare of abuse and neglect.