Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Kate’s home! She and my son-in-law, Andy, arrived late Friday. They’re in from Chicago to attend Geisinger’s Gala at the Westmoreland Club on Saturday night. On Thursday they “announced” on Facebook that they were expecting a baby in October. Anyone who’s ever even been in the same zip code as my wife, Mary, knows how completely delighted she is with the prospect of grand-motherhood. With Kate and two wonderful colleagues at the hospital expecting, with so many friends immersed in their kids’ lives, with example after example of love and respect for children all around me, sometimes it’s easy for me to forget that not all kids are treated with the kindness, respect, care and tenderness they deserve.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. While the observance is only a month long, this is a great time to educate ourselves on what child abuse is, how to recognize it and to commit to eliminating it. Most importantly, it’s a time to learn what to do if you suspect a child is suffering abuse or neglect.
Officially, child abuse is any intentional harm or mistreatment to a person under the age of 18. The harm or mistreatment can be physical, sexual, emotional, or neglect.
Just as there are many forms of abuse, there are varying signs and symptoms children may exhibit when they’re victims of these terrible crimes.
Some signs of abuse may be obvious to outsiders, but there are many other signs that may be less conspicuous.
Symptoms of physical abuse include unexplained injuries such as bruises, fractures or burns; injuries that don’t match the explanation a child gives for them; and untreated medical or dental problems. Now all kids have accidents, and some are indeed “accident magnets“ but when injuries seem too frequent and unusual, be on watch.
Signs of sexual abuse may include a child exhibiting sexual behavior or knowledge that is inappropriate for their age, pregnancy, a sexually transmitted infection, blood in their underwear, trouble walking or sitting, statements that they were sexually abused, or sexually abusing other children. Uneasiness and a change in a child’s behavior toward a person in their life that’s not clearly related to something they’re willing to talk about is a bright red flag; don’t ignore it.
Emotional child abuse involves injuring a child’s self-esteem or emotional well-being, and includes verbal and emotional assault as well as isolating, ignoring or rejecting a child. Kids need mature examples of healthy ways to relate to each other and bullying, the silent treatment or intimidating, aggressive language has no place in our dealing with children.
In cases of emotional abuse, you have to learn the symptoms and pay attention because they may appear less obvious than the physical and sexual abuse symptoms.
Signs of emotional abuse include delayed or inappropriate emotional development, social withdraw, depression, loss of self-confidence or self-esteem, vague physical complaints like headaches or stomach aches with no medical cause, avoiding certain situations, and desperately seeking affection.
Child neglect is the failure to provide a child with adequate food, shelter, supervision, education or medical care. When it comes to neglect, children may show poor growth or minimal weight gain, poor hygiene, taking food or money without permission, eating a lot of food in one sitting or hiding food for later and a poor record of school attendance.
Children being neglected may lack attention for medical, dental or psychological problems, even after their parents have been notified of concern over the issue. They may also have inappropriate or out-of-context emotional swings.
If you notice a child showing some of these symptoms and are concerned that he or she has been abused, seek help immediately, please.
The sooner you can get help and support for a child, the better their chance of recovery. If he or she needs medical attention, call 911. You can also contact the child’s doctor, your local child protective agency, your police department, or the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 800-422-4453.
Doctors and other healthcare professionals are legally required to report all suspected cases of child abuse to county or state authorities.
Treasure your kids. Treasure all kids. Be there for them, please.