Tanya Perez
Dr. Dreyer
English 1213
25 January 2014
To Be or Not To Be….A Child
Child Abuse is most commonly known as physical maltreatment (neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse or neglect ) of a child. Lasting scars are left by neglect and child abuse. Physical scars can be present from spanking, slapping, beating, burning and any other negative physical contact a victim may have endured. However, it is the emotional scars that have the longest lasting effects on children.
According to a yearly report, done by the Child Welfare Information Gatewat (CWIG), 686,000 children are victims of neglect and abuse. CWIG states for every 1,000 children, 9 are victims of abuse. Children are mostly abused by their parents, accounting for four-fifths of the victims. Two-fifths of that was mom acting alone, one-fifth of dad acting alone and one-fifth mom and dad acting together. (Child Welfare Information Gateway). If you can’t trust mom and dad, who can you trust? The remaining one-fifth of abuse was done by a non-parent. Parents have used excuses such as that they were abused as children, stress, financial problems and drug/alcohol abuse for the abuse they inflict.
Lack of trust is a big effect these children will encounter in their lives. They can shy away from strangers, becoming withdrawn and afraid. This hinders progress in school and work. Children may fear being controlled.
Constantly being told you are bad, stupid and worthless can eat at a person’s esteem. Low self esteem can cause people to “settle” instead of striving to achieve their best. They may not complete school because they feel they are not good enough. They may believe they don’t deserve better or that they are “damaged”.
When children are physically abused as a result of a parent’s anger, they learn this is the way to deal with their own anger and will often attack or lash out at others. Anger management can become a problem in every aspect of their lives. Instead of dealing with constructive critism, they may feel attacked and retaliate with violence.
Fear, low self esteem and acts of uncontrollable violence can lead children to drug and/or alcohol abuse. Amanda Hermes says about 66 percent of people in drug treatment programs report being abused as children. (Livestrong.com) Numbing out the pain is a common explanation for drug and alcohol abuse.
In conclusion, any form of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and emotional abuse or neglect of a child can lead to lower success rates in social settings and can increase the risk of violence/crime and drug and alcohol abuse. Child abuse causes scars not always visible to the eye.

Works Cited

Amanda Hermes. “Causes and Effects of Child Abuse.” Livestrong, Article 229260. N.p., 16
August 2013. Web. 23 January 2014.

Child Welfare Information Gateway, U.S Department of Health and Human Services,
Administration for Children and Families, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Children’s Bureau. “Children.” Child Maltreatment Report, 2012. N.p. 01 January 2013. Web. 24 January 2014.