What Is Child Abuse?

What is Child Abuse? By definition, child abuse is the deliberate and willful


        injury of a child by a caretaker hitting, beating with an object, slamming


        against a wall, even killing. It involves active, hostile, aggressive treatment.


        The key word in the definition of child abuse is deliberate. Why would


        anyone physically harm a child? The physical destruction of a child is the


        extreme reaction of parents to the stress of having children. Most people are


        not aware of the fact that deliberately hitting a child is considered a felony in


        all fifty states. Abuse of children is more common than most people realize.


        At least one out of five adult women and one out of every ten adult men


        report having been abused in childhood. Recognizing child abuse in its several


        forms is a twentieth century phenomenon. Child abuse is also more likely to


        be recognized in economically developed countries than in other parts of the


        world. Children have been beaten and abandoned for centuries, based


        primarily on the belief that children are the property of their parents. By


        educating yourself and your children about abuse, you can help prevent it


        from happening to your children and better cope with it if it does. (Child 6)


        There are four different forms of child abuse. They are physical abuse (child


        beating and neglect), sexual abuse, incest, and exploitation (such as child


        pornography). Physical abuse occurs when a caretaker deliberately beats the


        child. Some examples of 2 physical abuse include burning with a cigarette,


        striking a child, and scalding with hot water. According to social agencies,


        beatings of children have been multiplying...