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what are the signs of child abuse?
@ Menem!, no kidding
Depends on what type. There are many types like neglect and physical, mental and sexual abuse.
First I just want to say that abuse isn’t just about broken bones but the effects can last a lifetime.
Neglect:
Neglect is basically when the child is not cared for properly. The signs of neglect in a child is being frequently absent from school, begs or steals things like food and money, lacks needed medical care such as dental care, is constantly dirty and has horrible body odor, lacks sufficient clothing especially for the weather, abuses alcohol or other other drugs and states that there is no-one home to provide care.
The parents or caregivers may:
Appear indifferent to the kid, seems apathetic or depressed, behaves strangely or in a irrationally, is abusing alcohol or drugs.
Child sexual abuse is basically groping, touching, rape, watching the kid get undressed, sexual comments etc.
A child who is experiencing sexual abuse may:
have difficulty walking or sitting, suddenly refuses to change for gym/sport or participate in physical activities such as swimming, or dancing, suffers from nightmares and bedwetting, experiences changes in appetites, demonstrates sexual knowledge beyond what is expected of their age group, becomes pregnant or contracts some sort of STD (especially if under the age of 14), runs away frequently and most of all reports it.
A parent or adult who is sexually abusing a kid may:
Be increasingly controlling and overprotective of the kid, they may limit the amount of time the kid spends with other children especially of the opposite sex, is secretive and isolated and they can be jealous and controlling of other family members.
Emotional abuse. Emotional abuse is basically name calling, belittling, humiliating etc.
The child may:
The child may show extremes of behaviour and mood swings, is either inappropriately mature or inappropriately immature (e.g. parenting other children or rocking headbanging etc you can guess which is which), is delayed in physical and emotional development, has attempted suicide and reports a lack of attachment to a parent.
The parent or caregiver may:
constantly blame, humiliate, belittle, insult and taunt the child, is unconcerned about the child’s problems, welfare etc and overly rejects the kid.
All doctors, police officers and teachers are mandated (meaning they have to) report any abuse that any child reports to them. Abuse is taken seriously by the authorities and penalties are severe. If you or someone you know is being abused be there for them and report it because no-one deserves that.
January 17th, 2010
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 7 Comments »
As a teacher, what signs would you look for in a child that could indicate abuse was occurring at home?
bruises with unreasonable explanations:
e.g. obvious finger-mark bruises on both arms. child told me she ran into the door
child with black eye and other marks on the face & body.
child told me he fell under the table
changes in behavior: withdrawal, aggression, outbursts (anger or crying)
November 25th, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 6 Comments »
Can one not remember child sexual abuse?
I think I may have been sexually abused by a (now deceased) family member as a child..I have some of the warning signs. I’ve heard of people not remembering sexual abuse as a child and discovering later that they were. Usually this is when it occurs at a very young age. But is this possible for me?
It is quite possible, as a small child the mind blocks out bad experiences as a way for the mind to heal from bad trauma. Otherwise it could not cope. As you get older and have the words to articulate what has happened, your mind can get it out and deal with it.
November 23rd, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 3 Comments »
What are some biological signs of sexual abuse?
I have read that sometimes, when a child is sexually abused, that certain hormones are released and start puberty early. Is there anything else that can physically tell someone a child is abused?
There are quite a lot of signs for sexual abuse. For instance, in girls, it can disrupt the cycle of the period due to the stress. It can cause them to be late, or even skip a month entirely. I’ve read that sexual abuse can push back puberty but not speed it up. The main cause for the biological signs is stress from the trauma. This stress can also cause panic attacks, feelings of paranoia, flashbacks, or night terrors.
Other signs include behavioral outbursts, lowered self esteem, dissociation, depression, a heightening of sexual arousal, displaced aggression, sexual awkwardness or even sexual aggression towards other people.
November 19th, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 3 Comments »
Why did this child all of a sudden start STUTTERING?
This four year old that I know, recently started stuttering when she was about 3 1/2 yrs old. Since neither of the parents have any speech problems, I am wondering how this could be? Is stuttering an inherited trait? Or is it rather a sign of child abuse?
how could this be normal if many children her age don’t stutter? You would think that it could be somewhat genetic, especially if NOT ALL children at that get it
There are 4 main reasons why someone may develop a stutter.
1) Genetics – 60% of people who stutter have a family history
2) Child development- if the child has other developmental concerns such as speech and language or developmental delays
3) Neurophysiology – the child may process speech and language in a different area of the brain
4) Family dynamics – if the family has a fast paced lifestyle etc.
There is no reason to believe that stuttering can be caused by emotional trauma so to answer your question about stuttering as a sign of child abuse , I would say that it isn’t.
Check out the following link for more information. If the parents are concerned, I would recommend that they see a speech and language pathologist who specialized in childhood stuttering
November 18th, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 8 Comments »
Could this be a sign of child abuse-emotionally?
My 5year old daughter just spilled her Danimals (yogurt drink) all over the living room floor. Her father and I do not yell at her when she spills things unless it was intentional (which i know this was not). I turned to her to see what happened and she started crying uncontrolably. When i asked her to help me clean it up, she told me to leave her alone as she ran to her room. Apparently, she tried to sit in the chair and she slipped off the chair with the Danimals in her hand. She attends pre-k so i guess my question is this:
If she suddenly starts crying over something that isnt a big deal, could she be getting screamed at, for something at school, similar to this? She is a very emotional child and does take things personally. So could it be emotional abuse or just her being a typical 5year old? She also raised her hands as if in defense when i asked what happened. Please help me! I have been to her school numerous times and dont see anything out of the ordinary in her classroom.
I want to thank everyone so far for answering kindly. All of my visits to her school are unplanned. I always just drop in without them knowing and i havent really saw anything that would concern me. When its snack time at school and one of the kids spill something like juice, water, milk, etc, the teacher simply states "uh-oh! We had an accident! Lets clean this up!" It doesnt seem that any of this kids there cry or feel embarrassed over it. They all join in and help to clean. There is one child in her class who is a bully, but he has never hit any other child.
When she spills something at home and its on purpose, her father and i tend to yell at her that she needs to be more careful and to knock it off (she says that the baby did it) and we sit her in time-out for a few minutes.
Does anyone have any ideas on how i can approach this situation with her teachers to see if there may be an underlying reason for this abrupt change?
It sounds more like she was embarrassed. Embarrassment is a difficult emotion to deal with especially when you are so young. Most of the time people act out angrily when they are embarrassed.
November 12th, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 15 Comments »
What are some signs an adult woman was sexually abused as a child?
There’s this woman I just got out of a relationship of 7 years with. I was always suspicious that her step dad might of sexually abused her as a child.
When I’d ask her about it she’d just stare off into space and think for a little bit, then come back and say no.
I felt like she always wanted to tell but never had the courage.
Now that I look back at the relatinship I do see some things in her that say yes she was probably abused but I’m not a psycholgist and I’m not sure what I should have been looking for.
I was just wondering what are some signs that an adult woman might show?
They may be promiscuous,want sex all the time with their partner, use drugs or alcohol,become involved with same sex,wake-up out of a bad dream and even dislike having sexual encounters.
November 9th, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 5 Comments »
If there is a child acting out inappropriate sexual behaviours, is that a sign of abuse?
I’m not talking about an older child…I think they’re about 6ish. It’s highly disturbing, and I’m not sure why it’s happening… Is it possible it’s not a sign of abuse, and perhaps a sign of a mental illness?
I found out by seeing the kid do something to another kid… I’m…well kinda shocked right now…
Well it entirely depends on what you are considering sexually inappropriate behaviors. Children will figure out what feels good and will masturbate themselves at a very young age. Now if they are corrected and still are doing this publicly it could be a sign of abuse, sign of a mental illness such as an impulse control disorder, or could be a sign of a child that may have mental retardation. Now if they are acting out certain sexual acts, inserting objects in anus or vagina, or acting out on others that would be some pretty strong signs of some sort of abuse.
November 6th, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 10 Comments »
Is this a sign of child abuse?
During the day a child kept grabbing at (male) crouch, the child is female.
My only concern, having been a witness for the defense and a member of a jury in a child abuse cases, I believe officials interfered.
Be concern and documented it..see if there are other signs..
November 3rd, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 7 Comments »
Were you deeply, deeply affected by reading "Death from Child Abuse…and No One Heard"?
I am still trying to get through the book. My chest hurts and I cry a lot. I know Don was killed in prison, but that is small comfort. Is there anyone out there who is hurting over this book? I can’t talk to my family or husband, since they don’t like to hear about those things, and I’m trying to become strong so when I retire I can work with abused children in some way. This has been the hardest account for me to get through. I read the Dave Pelzer series and A Beautiful Child, and they affected me without a doubt, but I finished those rapidly. I can only get through Ursula’s story a few pages at a time. I already skipped to the back and read about the signs of child abuse. This book makes me feel cold and deeply, deeply sad. It makes me wonder about life after death, whether our justice system is effective, what can I do to help? I have these questions that are keeping me awake at night. I just have to know if there are many others who carry Ursula in their hearts…
I see so many people (newspapers) that go crazy over reports of animal abuse. Granted, yes that is a terrible thing.BUT ,where are these people when abusers of children are outed? Where’s the outrage then? They’ll show up at a courthouse because some idiot leaves his dog outside all winter long BUT what about the piece of crap that doesn’t feed their own children?? Unbelievable. I’m glad (not a real good choice of words here) that someone is affected by the neglect and abuse of innocent children. I remain active in coaching kids in sports. I tell my athletes that I’m available at any time with any problems they may have, be it homework,bullies, etc…
November 1st, 2009
Posted by admin in signs of child abuse | 1 Comment »