Do 1

Melody Do

Vyvial-7th

English 1302

21 March 2019

Children in Distress

Child abuse has been going for decades and still continue to be a big problem in the

homes of children. It can take on forms such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse of a person

under the age of 18 by an adult. There needs to be an increase in awareness on this topic before it

gets worse, even now there are millions of cases on child abuse: “A report of child abuse is made

every ten seconds” (Childhelp) and there is still no solution to be done about this. Parents’

personal childhood experience, mental illnesses, misuse of substance and alcohol, and poor

living conditions are the reasons why children are getting mistreated and neglected.

There are many reasons as to why child abuse is happening, but there needs to be a closer

examination as to why adults are doing this. Parents abuse their child mostly because they were

also abused themselves as a child. As a result, the parents will do the same thing and it can get

passed on throughout generations in their family. Because it is passed on through generations,

more children will get abused and the risks factors will go up. With more children getting

abused, it will become a widespread problem. Because it is a widespread problem, a lot of

children will get harmed or cause harm to themselves from the abuse. As a result, the abuse can

ruin their life and cause a negative impact for them. Because child abuse is an issue, parents need

to find a way to stop what they are doing to their children.

Some actions that may seem little, will actually make a big impact to stop child abuse.

When a child is abused, the parent might often not know that they are abused their child and
 Do 2

think that they are doing nothing wrong. In other cases, parents do acknowledge what is

happening, but do not care. The child might talk to a close friend or family member about the

situation and see what they can do to help. Although having another adult talk to the parent

might work, sometimes it does not always work out that way. Instead, parents should practice

having a stronger bond with their children. Spending time with family can help parents develop:

“parenting skills, understand the benefits of nonviolent discipline techniques, and understand and

meet their child’s need” (Susan Orr). For example, as a family, can go to community services or

organizations, family support centers, or even getting involved with the children’s school. At

home, parents and their kids build a calendar where there are activities to do each day as a

family. Another example would to be a more nurturing parent. Help the child feel loved by

congratulating their accomplishments or telling them they are appreciated even if the children

does something not right. Parents should listen to what the child has to say and not be quick to

intervene. Although creating time to spend with family might work on lessening the child abuse,

there are things that can go wrong. The parent might not agree to all the things suggested and get

frustrated at the child too quick. The child could also be stubborn and not listen to what the

parent is saying and do whatever they please; so, it results in the parent having no choice but to

take action and discipline them to the extent of which it is too harsh. It all depends on how the

parent and child are willing to cope together to solve the problem of child abuse.

Stopping child abuse early, can prevent it more from happening later on in future

families. Ocassionally when a child is abused by their parent, it is because the parent does not

know how to properly raise the child. They have problems of their own like substance and

alcohol abuse, using a bunch of profanity in from of children, and are violent. All of these things

will cause the child to ultimately be afraid of their own parents. Rather than continuing the
 Do 3

abuse, parents that do this should look at other options to help. One example would be to get help

with their drug and alcohol addiction by going to support groups or get treatment from

professionals. By being sober, it will allow the parents to be more open-minded and clearly see

what is happening. If the parents continued to use drugs and drink alcohol around the house, the

children might get into the habitat of getting addicted just like their parents. Additionally, parents

should cut out all violence in the house. They should monitor what children are watching and not

do the same thing in real life. Parents should also not say any profanity in front of children since

they might copy what the adults are saying. If parents are having issues of their own which

causes them to abuse their child, the parents should consider going to counseling to help with

whatever is on their mind. By going to see a therapist, it allows the parents to express their

emotions to the counseling session instead of taking it out on the children. Even though these are

solutions that parents can try, adults with drug and alcohol abuse might have a hard time quitting,

making it harder to stop the abuse. Also, parents might not want to go to counseling because it

will be embarrassing or think it is a waste of time. In the end, parents should do whatever it takes

to be a good mother or father to their child.

 Do 4

Works Cited

American Academy of Pediatrics. “Child Abuse and Neglect.” HealthyChildren.org, 2019,

www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-home/Pages/What-to-Know-about-

Child-Abuse.aspx.

“Childhelp A Non-Profit Charity Aiding Victims of Child Abuse.” Childhelp,

www.childhelp.org/.

Orr, Susan. “What Everyone Can Do to Prevent Child Abuse.” Childwelfare, 2004,

www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/2004guide.pdf.