editorial

Meghan Saso

There is a problem in American **__and__** that we don’t recognize as much as we should. It is one of the most depressing issues __**I can think about**__ and when hearing stories about it, I can’t help but get upset. "Child abuse is harm to, or neglect of, a child by another person, whether adult or child. Child abuse happens in all cultural, ethnic, and income groups. Child abuse can be physical, emotional- verbal, sexual or through neglect. Abuse may cause serious injury to the child and may even result in death." //Child absuse can be broken down into several type such as neglest, emotional abuse sexual abuse and physical abuse.// Child Neglect involves not taking care of and providing for the needs of the child. Neglect is something most kids are oblivious of until they're older. Emotional Abuse is where the abuser threatens, accuses, yells, curse, intimidates or manipulates the child. Yes, there is a fine line between normal discipline and emotional abuse, but children aren't stupid, just inexperienced. They know when that line is crossed. Sexual abuse and molestation are the reasons for most of the major physical and psychological traumas. They leave the child scarred for life and no matter what happens every day, there will always be the fear and anxiety or even a constant reminder that will easily trigger __**you**__ //something that// brings them back to the days //of abuse// __**when the abuse was happening**__. And then there **__was__** //is// Physical Abuse, the easiest to spot because of the signs and marks it leaves. Physical abusers are sometimes not capable of controling themselves. They could be using restraints, whipping, belts, and knives, shaking, hitting, throwing, and burning. Clearly, this is very harmful to the child and also leaves the child scarred for life as well as the others.

My opinion on child abuse is one thing I will always be passionate about. There is a fine line between discipline and abuse.//Whether the child is well behaved or not they should never be exposed to the pain and suffering.// __**A child good or badly behaved should never go through the pain and suffering of cruelty**__. There are ways to go about a situation and abuse is not one. The though at a child being scared for their life makes me sick. How a mother or father can bring a baby into the world as their own child, and then beat them, molest them or even emotionally hurt them is beyond me. Children are something you should love and cherish. They are the people who look up to you for advice and guidance, your everyday choices shape the people they become. If you raise your child to abuse in your household and to everyday suffering, well some may grow from that as a huge motivation to stop child abuse, and others survivors of child abuse, well that’s all they have ever known and eventually do so to their children.

It may be hard to recognize if a child is neglected or emotionally abused, but for physical or sexual abuse here are ways you can be aware of the signs and hopefully do something about it. Emotional or neglect signs of abuse are as easy to spot as being shy or afraid to go home, or craving attention from others outside of their home all of which everyday people who are about them can be aware of and try to do something about it. Sexual abused mistreated children may have difficulty sitting or walking, they have rectal pain, itching, swelling and redness. They have bruises or other injuries in the genital or rectal area. For those who everyday cannot see those signs can look for difficulty in eating or sleeping, soiling or wetting their pants, they act like a much younger child and are always sad and excessive crying. They also withdraw from activities with others and talking about or acting out sexual acts beyond normal sex play for age, but this is not their fault because that is all they know at home. Physical abuse is one the easiest to spot on a child and one of which you have no reason not to try and help. They have unexplained or repeated injuries such as welts, bruises, or burns, some that are in the shape of an object of which the abuser is using on them. Disagreements between the child's and the parent's explanation of the injury or what happened to the child can be a major sign. The child may be fearful and if you go to hug them and touch them even to fix something on them they may flinch or crouch away. Even their everyday appearance, like being dirty or lack of medical care can be a major sign.

If you suspect child abuse of any kind, you should talk to the child in a private area and encourage the child to give you enough information to evaluate whether abuse may have happened. You should try not to make the child upset so try and stay calm while talking to them about it. If the child does trust you and reveals the abuse, make sure you let them know that you believe them and that it was okay for them to tell you and they aren’t wrong for doing so and they aren’t bad and whoever did the abuse was sick. Make sure you tell them you are going to help and talk so someone for them. Always immediately report the abusers, because most states that is required by law. In my eyes trying your best to recognize children who are in need of someone to save them is as much as you can do, abusers are sick and most cannot be stopped or spotted out and about because they usually abusers behind closed doors where no one can confront them about it.

To be honest I cannot really give a view point of those who disagree with my opinion, mainly because I know many will say it is discipline, but like I said there is a fine line between that and abuse. The only things that I may slightly see as a reason for ones abuse to their children are if they themselves were abused as a kid. Still you would think knowing the pain and fear they had as a kid would make them never want another person to feel the way they once did. I feel they people who would ever defend abuse or anything not even just a child should be looked at twice and may be sick and need help before it’s too late.

United States receive more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse or neglect. Approximately 896,000 children were found to have been victims of abuse or neglect—an average of more than 2,450 children per day. You can help stop it!