What are the Four Different Types of Child Abuse?

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. It is a good opportunity for educators and others who work with children to take some time to become familiar with the different types of child abuse that exist, so that they may recognize when problems occur and assist in getting students the help they need.

Physical abuse occurs when a parent causes physical injury to a child from behavior such as hitting, choking, shaking, kicking, or burning. The abuse may result from physical discipline which is not appropriate for the child, or from a parent who is unable to control his or her anger and misdirects it towards the child. Children who live in homes where punishment is often physical may not always realize that they are being abused.

Signs of physical abuse include unexplained, repeated, or excessive bruises, broken bones, black eyes, or other injuries. Abused children may have long absences from school, or may wear clothing inappropriate for the weather in an attempt to cover up injuries. They may be afraid to go home or to be alone with their parent.

Emotional abuse is behavior that makes the child feel unloved and unwanted. It can include things like belittling, insulting, threatening, isolating, exploiting, and ignoring. Emotional abuse can consist of either a pattern of such behaviors or extreme examples in isolation.

Emotionally abused children may seem unusually unattached to their parent. They may exhibit physical or emotional developmental delays, or show extremes in behavior. These children may also either regress to childlike behavior, or may exhibit unusual maturity, such as providing caretaking for other children

Neglect occurs when a parent fails to provide for a child’s most basic needs. These can include food, clothing, housing, education, medical care, or supervision. Emotional neglect may include permitting the child to use drugs or alcohol or participate in other maladaptive or dangerous behavior, allowing the child to witness domestic violence, refusing to obtain needed psychological care for the child, or failing to provide the necessary nurturing for the child.

A child who is chronically neglected may be frequently absent from school, may have poor hygiene or clothing that is inappropriate for the weather, or may beg or steal food or money. There may also be an obvious need for dental or medical care that is going unchecked. The child may be unsupervised for long periods of time, or may be out getting into trouble and no one seems to notice.

A familiarization with the four types of child abuse will help educators and youth workers stay alert for signs that children may need there help. Please check back for more articles in this series on National Child Abuse Prevention Month, including information about reporting suspected child abuse and factors that can help protect families from child abuse.