Did you know that there is a difference between child abuse and child neglect, Child abuse is mistreatment of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caretaker, someone living in their home, or someone who works around or with children.  Child neglect is failure of caretakers to provide adequate emotional and physical care for a child.  Did you know that parents not having their child finish their antibiotic could be seen as a form of child neglect.

There are 3 different types of abuse

Physical

Sexual 

Emotional

According to the American Humane Association:

Ways to tell if a child has been physically abused

*While injuries can occur accidentally when a child is at play, physical abuse should be suspected if the explanations do not fit the injury or if a pattern of frequency is apparent. The presence of many injuries in various stages of healing makes it obvious that the injuries did not all occur as a result of one accident.

Physical indicators of abuse include bruises; lacerations; swollen areas; and marks on the child’s face, head, back, chest, genital area, buttocks or thighs. Wounds like human bite marks, cigarette burns, broken bones, puncture marks or missing hair may indicate abuse.

A child’s behavior might also signal that something is wrong. Victims of physical abuse may display withdrawn or aggressive behavioral extremes, complain of soreness or uncomfortable movement, wear clothing that is inappropriate for the weather, express discomfort with physical contact or become chronic runaways.

Ways to tell if a child has been Sexually Abused

*Children who are sexually abused may exhibit behavioral changes, based on their age.

Children up to age 3 may exhibit:

• Fear or excessive crying
• Vomiting
• Feeding problems
• Bowel problems
• Sleep disturbances
• Failure to thrive

Children ages 2 to 9 may exhibit:

• Fear of particular people, places or activities
• Regression to earlier behaviors such as bed wetting or stranger anxiety
• Victimization of others
• Excessive masturbation
• Feelings of shame or guilt
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• Withdrawal from family or friends
• Fear of attack recurring
• Eating disturbances

Symptoms of sexual abuse in older children and adolescents include:

• Depression
• Nightmares or sleep disturbances
• Poor school performance
• Promiscuity
• Substance abuse
• Aggression
• Running away from home
• Fear of attack recurring
• Eating disturbances
• Early pregnancy or marriage
• Suicidal gestures
• Anger about being forced into situation beyond one’s control
• Pseudo-mature behaviors

Ways to tell if a child has been emotionally abused

*Emotional abuse of a child is commonly defined as a pattern of behavior by parents or caregivers that can seriously interfere with a child’s cognitive, emotional, psychological or social development. Emotional abuse of a child — also referred to as psychological maltreatment — can include:

• Ignoring. Either physically or psychologically, the parent or caregiver is not present to respond to the child. He or she may not look at the child and may not call the child by name.
• Rejecting. This is an active refusal to respond to a child’s needs (e.g., refusing to touch a child, denying the needs of a child, ridiculing a child).
• Isolating. The parent or caregiver consistently prevents the child from having normal social interactions with peers, family members and adults. This also may include confining the child or limiting the child’s freedom of movement.
• Exploiting or corrupting. In this kind of abuse, a child is taught, encouraged or forced to develop inappropriate or illegal behaviors. It may involve self-destructive or antisocial acts of the parent or caregiver, such as teaching a child how to steal or forcing a child into prostitution.
• Verbally assaulting. This involves constantly belittling, shaming, ridiculing or verbally threatening the child.
• Terrorizing. Here, the parent or caregiver threatens or bullies the child and creates a climate of fear for the child. Terrorizing can include placing the child or the child’s loved one (such as a sibling, pet or toy) in a dangerous or chaotic situation, or placing rigid or unrealistic expectations on the child with threats of harm if they are not met.
• Neglecting the child. This abuse may include educational neglect, where a parent or caregiver fails or refuses to provide the child with necessary educational services; mental health neglect, where the parent or caregiver denies or ignores a child’s need for treatment for psychological problems; or medical neglect, where a parent or caregiver denies or ignores a child’s need for treatment for medical problems.

Those are just a few ways to be able to recognize abuse, but when you recognize it, DONT BE AFRAID to REPORT IT!

Although there are certain professions that have state law mandates to report reasonable cause to suspect abuse or neglect, EVERYONE CAN REPORT!

You can report The Child Abuse Hotline, the number is 1-800-25-ABUSE and it's located in Springfield Illinois.

The questions you will be asked when you report are simple..

1. Perpetrators name, address, and relationship to child 

2. Date, time, nature, and extent of the abuse or neglect

3. Description of how you learned about the injuries or neglect

4. Any actions taken to help the child

*** Calls can be made ANONYMOUS!!!!!!! ***

Of all reported cases of maltreatment 

60% is neglect

20% is abuse

10% sexual abuse

7% emotional maltreatment

Just one call can help out with these statistics!! Anyone can make the call and change the life of an abused child.

Heres a video that just explains the extent of how bad child abuse can get… might need some Kleenex