Child Abuse and Its effects

Children have that right to be loved. But there are those who suffer child abuse in the very sense of the word. Child abuse could either be physical, mental or sexual abuse to children. This might have certain adverse effects on the child so they must be given extra support and attention.

Physical abuse concerns maltreatments of children in a physical way. This means hurting the children physically, or not giving them proper nutrition. Emotional abuse or mental abuse, on the other hand, is about abuse in children which affects primarily their emotions. This includes saying hurtful words to children, as well as scolding them often that lower their self esteem. Sexual abuse, however, is abuse that concerns the sexual attributes of a child. This is one of the worst cases of child abuse.

Causes of Child Abuse

Like any other abuse, child abuse also has a cause. There are many causes of child abuse. The most prominent one among the causes is mental illness, as well as psychological problems. The tendency is that people who are not in their right minds, could easily do harm to children, whether intentional or not.

Also, family problems are major causes of child abuse. Parents under the power of drugs could easily hurt their children. Plus, financial problems could invoke parents or other members of the family to abuse children as an outlet of their emotions. Stress could also be a root cause of child abuse. It is good to know the cause of abuse on a certain child so that the treatment and the actions could be well defined.

Effects of Child Abuse in Children

Children who have experienced child abuse are likely to have some emotional and psychological problems whether they display them or not and in worse cases, a child might have suicidal tendencies because of this. The effects of child abuse on a child depends on how great the abuse is, the greater the abuse, the greater the effect on the overall state of the child.

Depression, stress and trauma are also some of the effects of child abuse in children. Abused children also exhibit conditions like difficulty in building up relationships in people, low self image, eating disorders, as well as physical disabilities. Child abuse could also lower the self worth of the child who experienced it.