Delanie Michel

Period 2

Mrs. LoMonte

Child Abuse

            Child abuse has become a major problem in modern society. There are many different kinds of child abuse. There is physical abuse, child neglect, and mental abuse.       Child abuse is something that has to be stopped as soon as possible because the longer we wait the more children are going to be abused.

            According to childwelfare.gov an estimated 3,244,000 children were abused in 1999. Some visible signs of physical abuse are multiple bruises on the body, or many cuts. Parents that have been caught abusing a child have said that they were “Acts of discipline.” But there is a colossal difference between teaching a child right from wrong and causing a child to live in fear. Can you imagine a three year old child having to endure this with no way to escape? No way to know how their mom or dad is going to act that day? A child needs predictability, structure, and the knowledge that they are being protected, according to helpguide.org. So if this is taken away from them, they will  live in a world of fear for the rest of their life.

            Physical  abuse is’t the only type of abuse, there is mental abuse as well. An example of this is when a parent is constantly yelling, threatening, or bullying their child. Another example is when a parent or guardian is constantly telling their child that they are worthless or a mistake. This can permanently damage a child’s demeanor. Once they have been exposed to this emotional abuse, their life will be forever altered. 

            The most common type of child abuse is child neglect. This is still categorized as child abuse even if it isn’t actually called “abuse.” This is when a parent or guardian doesn’t take care of a child’s basic needs, like food, shelter, or hygiene. Sometimes a parent just can’t pay for the basic needs or aren't physically able to.  Other times the parent isn’t in the right state of mind. Drugs and alcohol is usually the cause of this according to helpguide.org. 

            As you can see this is something that can not continue. If you just sit back and hope that the children will be okay, the lives of thousands of children will be on your conscious. Children who were abuse at a young age are going to grow up and abuse their children because that is all they knew as a child. This cycle has to be stopped before the word becomes a place of fear.