Most of you have heard, witnessed, or even experienced some type of abuse in your life. I have also experienced abuse. While right now life is pretty good that is true; however, it took many years to achieve. Still, at times it can feel like any achievements made do not add up to anything in life. This feeling can come from childhood abuse. I know what you’re thinking no-one’s childhood is perfect: and this is true. I am going to invite you into mine and possibly many other children’s childhoods. Imagine a little girl sits on a hard wooden chair/bench she was approximately two years old sitting on a courtroom bench with her mother holding her. The little child was wearing a frilly dress the color of white. It took a couple years for her …show more content…
The young child and her sister are responsible for mowing and raking the lawn with one rack, and one lawn mower. They were not allowed in the house until the lawn was completed. They would start in the morning and be done generally around sundown. These were more difficult years for her from previous years. Her parents had become more erratic due to their alcoholism. Chores to be completed contained some of the following scrubbing to floors with tooth brushes on their hands and knees, taking turns scrubbing each row at a time then the young girl would scrub the next row, also scrubbing down walls and kitchen appliances. The children would try to stay away from them as much as possible; however, it was difficult at times. One recalled instant where she was coming down the stairs to use the restroom. Father stopped her a little more than half way down the stairs with a loaded shotgun pointed at her head and was told to return to bed, she did as she was told quickly. The next day he thought it would be a good idea for her to learn to load and unload the shotgun. There were so many memories from this time it’s hard to know what to share. There is one memory that really stood out in my head when the mother was passed out on the toilet father came in after waking up from his passing out and smacked her telling her “ play with fire you get burnt”. Which for some reason conjures up the image of Smokey the Bear in my
Lemoncelli, John, and Robert S. Shaw. Healing from Childhood Abuse: Understanding the Effects, Taking Control to Recover. ABC-CLIO,
She was cruelly treated, spit at, beaten, and shunned on a daily basis. Her parents were sympathetic to her dilemma and finally forced her to see a psychiatrist. She was placed on medication that made her very sleepy. The psychiatrist said that “kids will be kids and that possibly she was looking for attention from her parents.” In eighth grade, a group of popular students followed her to the parking lot after school on a winter’s afternoon, knocked her to the ground, and shoved fistfuls of snow down her throat, laughing as they watched her struggle to breathe.
“We aren’t the weeds in the crack of life. We’re the strong, amazing flowers that found a way to grow in the challenging conditions.” (McElvaney, 1057) The book entitled “Spirit Unbroken: Abby’s Story,” offers a perspective on child abuse providing a positive outlook on a tragic situation. Even in the best of circumstances, however, victims of abuse can see the effects of the trauma for the rest of their life. For each individual person affected by this form of trauma, the reactions can vary. The same type of abuse in two different people can have very different outcomes – one could be that of coping, and the other a life of brokenness. Especially at impressionable ages, any form of abuse can be a hindrance in living a normal life. Children
...g and filled with detailed solutions for each act of child abuse. The book allows the reader to visual themselves in each situation and knows how to react towards such each incident. It helped me understand why adults abused as children act the way they do when it comes to social interaction. Personally, I have attained new information that I was unaware of. In the beginning, I have always believed that child abuse only involved physical or sexual abuse. I did not know that emotional abuse actually existed. I was unaware of the fact that emotional abuse gravely affects children as they grow up. This book may open up the minds of people who are unaware of or refuse to believe that child abuse is occurring daily in our society because it is so informative and persuasive at the same time. If one needs to educate themselves concerning child abuse, consider this book.
Child abuse is a worldwide phenomenon that needs urgent attention. Kopp and Miltenberger (2008) in their study evaluated the validity and acceptability of using role-plays to assess sexual abuse prevention skills.
Unfortunately, there are children everywhere who endure a form of abuse. Some experience emotional abuse while others experience physical abuse. Other children, like Dave Pelzer, are faced with both. Dave had to grow up in a family of two alcoholic parents. He was severely beaten and tortured by his mother and was neglected by his father. Dave had to spend his childhood in fear of his life. Although sad, his story gives others hope that they too can experience an abusive childhood and live to tell about it.
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are the extremely traumatic events that take place in an individual’s childhood that negatively affect their future attempts to succeed in life. ACEs include enduring physical and verbal abuse, living in dysfunction and over exposure to violent and criminal behavior. It was determined that children who are in the child welfare system are more likely to suffer ACEs and develop physical and mental health issues as well as engage in risky behavior (Brown & Shillington, 2017); children who suffer ACEs also have lower self-efficacy than other children. In all of the research prior to this study, much of the focus was on the psychological and behavioral outcomes of ACEs and what children were more susceptible to them. The problem that the researchers in this study have identified is that in no prior research has anyone
Childhood trauma can be attributed to many forms of child abuse. It can be described as sexual abuse, physical maltreatment and the witnessing of domestic violence. Males and females that experience childhood trauma will develop impairment in their well-being and will most likely increase their chances in developing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “The stressful or traumatic event involves a situation where someone's life has been threatened or severe injury has occurred (ex. they may be the victim or a witness of physical abuse, sexual abuse, violence in the home or in the community, automobile accidents, natural disasters (such as flood, fire, earthquakes), and being diagnosed with a life threatening illness). A child's risk of developing PTSD is related to the seriousness of the trauma, whether the trauma is repeated, the child's proximity to the trauma, and his/her relationship to the victim(s).” Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (2011, March).
9. Discuss two of the most egregious forms of child abuse and neglect. What could be possible solutions to this problem?
In this second paragraph I will be talking about what abuse does to the children. Some may say that one type of exploitation is worse than others when it comes to adolescents. I feel as if no abuse should occur. After years of mistreatment children may have low self-esteem, the feeling that they have no way out, and may even try to commit suicide. It is very impo...
Abuse can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time. This is repetitive acts of behavior of wanting to maintain power and have control over someone whether it be through childhood, adolescents, or adulthood. This subject is sensitive as it impacts so many different people around the world. The topic of abuse is not just a family matter, it comes in all forms, such as sexual, emotional, and physical. Abuse is accompanied by the long term emotional tolls, especially on children because their brains are still developing and can take abuse harder than others. One question to ask, is how does one overcome abuse? As children and adolescents develop, how do they function emotionally and physically? These traumatic experiences that happen through
A persons emotions influence every aspect of ones lives. Especially when you’re a child, your emotions are vulnerable to every interaction they receive. When these emotions are beaten down and destroyed continuously, a common name for this is abuse. For example, Dee, a young married women, was emotionally abused everyday by her husband. He treated her as more of a servant than a wife and she eventually hated her life. She became depressed and eventually contemplated suicide. It wasn’t until then that she considered getting help (YWCA Mohawk Valley, 2014). Approximately one third of Canadians have experienced child abuse (CBC Radio, 2014) and approximately 8% of Canadians experience depression (Mood Disorders Society of Canada, 2009)? This is normally an uncommon conversation topic in today’s society because most people do not like to talk about it. The statistics above are connected; many people who experience abuse are prone to mental illness. When a child has been physically abused, there are noticeable bruises, or other effects on the person. On the other hand, most people do not recognize or even know the effects of emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can deeply wound a child, and as the child grows, the scars will remain; the scars that people do not see that can cause a lifetime of suffering. These invisible scars can affect a person’s development as they struggle to accept themselves from childhood through adolescence to adulthood. Emotional abuse negatively impacts an individual’s self-esteem, which can in turn, cause depression and substance abuse later in adulthood.
O'Meara, Sara, and Yvonne Fedderson. "What Is Child Abuse." Childhelp. Childhelp, 1959. Web. 12 Sept. 2017. .
The effects of child abuse are multiple. The pain and trauma the abused child goes through is just a small part of how this cauldron of hidden depravity in our society affects all of us. Wrecked lives can be seen in persons of all ages and in all walks of life. Society as a whole is also effected by child abuse both in negative and positive ways. In this essay I will present some of the factor and results of this violent behavior on individuals as well as our culture.
One of the most obvious and damaging results of child abuse is death; however, research illustrating the effects on a growing child who has been abused has demonstrated many other lifelong negative factors (Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, Koss, Marks, 1998). In consonance children who suffer from abuse can show signs of depression, social withdraw, and even violent behavior. As a child grows older, they may suffer from poor physical health, such as high blood pressure, obesity, stress, and psychological disorders and disabilities (Herronkohl, T., Hong, Klika, and Herronkohl, R., 2013). Child abuse and neglect have also been associated with depression, anger disorders, and post-traumatic