form of child abuse

Child abuse, more than not, stems from past trauma experienced by the abuser. Child abuse is usually narrowed down to that experienced in the domestic set up, that is, from the family members, especially parents, to the child. The vice may take many forms, from the usual physical battering to overworking a child and inflicting psychological and emotional harm (machildren’salliance, n.d). Simple acts like denying a child the basic human rights, such as food, clothing, or shelter, are also constituted as child abuse (machildren’salliance, n.d). In most households, some form of child abuse is usually dealt one time or another, most families, however, being oblivious to this due to the seemingly trivial nature of the abuse.

Some parents, in hindsight, grew up in toxic households, devoid of any affection and lacking some measure of obligation from their parents. This results in building of pent up frustrations that are carried on from childhood into adulthood. The trauma resulting from these childhood experiences affects the person mentally and emotionally, to the point where it adversely affects their parenting when they get to have their own kids. The parents, in some way, channel these frustrations to their kids, abusing them in the same way they were abused in their childhood, sometimes subconsciously.

Such parents should learn to come to terms with their past. Clinging to the past is one way in which such abusive tendencies tend to manifest in the parents. The abuse they went through drags them down their whole life to the point it becomes hard to shake it off, therefore, they find themselves venting these frustrations to their children. Such parents need to take the bold step and accept that such atrocities happened to them, and even go as far as forgiving their parents, to effectively let go of their past and bring up their children in a better way.

Parents should also accept the fact that their children played no part in the sufferings they went through as children. It is common to find parents that justify the abuse of their children by pinning the problems of their past on them. The scapegoat mentality does nothing but provide an excuse for dealing abuse on the children, who are innocent in such a scenario. Once a parent comes to terms with the fact that abusing the child does nothing to rid of the hurt that he/she once suffered, the parent will put in a concerted effort in raising the child to avoid him/her suffering the same trauma in later years.

Bibliography

machildren’salliance. (n.d.). Different Forms of Child Abuse. Retrieved April 11, 2020, from Massachusetts children’s alliance: https://machildrensalliance.org/different-forms-of-child-abuse/