Emotional abuse is considered one of the most underreported forms of child abuse. Emotional abuse may include insulting a child or engaging in persistent name-calling, threatening violence towards a child even where the threat is not carried out, allowing children to witness emotional abuse of others and allowing children to use drugs and alcohol.
Emotional abuse can be present in all categories of families, however it is statistically most likely to occur in families that are suffering from financial difficulties, single-parent households, families that are going through a divorce and families in which there are substance abuse issues.
Even great parents will occasionally yell at their children or become angry in times of stress. However, when this type of behavior is consistent a child can suffer the long-term effects of emotional child abuse. Ignoring — Withholding affection or showing little or no interest in a child. Isolating — Prohibiting a child from engaging in appropriate activities with friends or keeping a child away from human contact.
Corrupting — Exposing a child to drugs, alcohol, criminal behavior or inappropriate sexual conduct. Treatment for the caregiver means better care for the children. Lack of parenting skills. Some caregivers never learned the skills necessary for good parenting.
Teen parents, for example, might have unrealistic expectations about how much care babies and small children need. Or parents who were themselves victims of child abuse may only know how to raise their children the way they were raised.
Parenting classes, therapy, and caregiver support groups are great resources for learning better parenting skills. Stress and lack of support. Caring for a child with a disability, special needs, or difficult behaviors is also a challenge. If you grew up in a household where screaming and shouting or violence was the norm, you may not know any other way to raise your kids. Recognizing that you have a problem is the biggest step to getting help.
The following are warning signs that you may be crossing the line into abuse:. What starts as a swat on the backside may turn into multiple hits getting harder and harder. You may shake your child more and more and finally throw them down. You feel emotionally disconnected from your child. You just want to be left alone and for your child to be quiet.
Meeting the daily needs of your child seems impossible. Other people have expressed concern. It may be easy to bristle at other people expressing concern. However, consider carefully what they have to say. Are the words coming from someone you normally respect and trust? If you have a history of child abuse, having your own children can trigger strong memories and feelings that you may have repressed. But you can learn new ways to manage your emotions and break your old patterns. Help and support are available:.
Learn what is age appropriate and what is not. Having realistic expectations of what children can handle at certain ages will help you avoid frustration and anger at normal child behavior.
For example, newborns are not going to sleep through the night without a peep, and toddlers are not going to be able to sit quietly for extended periods of time. Develop new parenting skills. Start by learning appropriate discipline techniques and how to set clear boundaries for your children. Parenting classes, books, and seminars offer this information.
You can also turn to other parents for tips and advice. Take care of yourself. Sleep deprivation, common in parents of young children, adds to moodiness and irritability—exactly what you are trying to avoid. Get professional help.
Breaking the cycle of abuse can be very difficult if the patterns are strongly entrenched. Your children will thank you for it. Learn to control your emotions. If you were abused or neglected as a child, you may have an especially difficult time getting in touch with your range of emotions.
You may have had to deny or repress them as a child, and now they spill out without your control. What should you do if you suspect that a child is being abused? Or if a child confides in you? Child abuse is a difficult subject that can be hard to accept and even harder to talk about—for both you and the child. When talking with an abused child, the best way to encourage them is to show calm reassurance and unconditional support.
Child neglect is failure to provide adequate food, shelter, affection, supervision, education, or dental or medical care. Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Accessed Aug.
Contact us. Prevent Child Abuse America. Other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention: Abuse and neglect. Arlington, Va. The issue of child abuse. Christian CW, et al. The evaluation of suspected child physical abuse. Trauma and child abuse resource center. American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Factitious disorder. Dulcan MK, et al. Child abuse and neglect. Child abuse and neglect: Risk and protective factors. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Child emotional aggression and abuse: Definitions and prevalence. October Stirling, J. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellFamily.
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I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. What Is Emotional Child Abuse? Risk Factors. What to Do. How to Recognize and Report Child Neglect. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Sign Up. What are your concerns? Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles.
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