how to stop child abuse essay

Child Abuse Prevention: How to Stop Child Abuse

Child abuse prevention is one of the main priorities of the Administration for Children and Families, which has recently received additional funding to ensure the success of this mandate. Child abuse prevention programs can protect families and save the lives of children but they require commitment from parents, individuals, and community organizations.

Ways to prevent child abuse, as well as stop child abuse from recurring, consists both of introducing protective factors against child abuse and eliminating the risk factors for child abuse. Both strategies have been shown to reduce the incidence of reported child abuse .

Child Abuse Prevention Protective Factors

Preventing child abuse can be done by addressing parenting. Specifically, the Administration for Children and Families identifies five protective factors for child abuse prevention:

• Nurturing and attachment – involves developing a bond and expressing love between parent and child. Studies show that affection shapes a baby's brain and reduces the risk of mental illness. 1   Early positive relationships also lead to better grades, social interactions, healthier behaviors and an increased ability to cope with stress in the future. 2
• Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development – parents that have an understanding of the importance of their role in the development of their children are more motivated to create a positive environment. Factors that are known to create a positive effect on child development include respectful communication and listening, consistent rules and expectations and safe opportunities for independence. 3
• Parental resilience – involves the ability to cope with the stresses of everyday life, as well as the occasional crisis. This resilience allows the parent to deal with stress in a healthy way rather than possibly put the child in abusive situations when stress from raising the child occurs. 4
• Social connections – parents with connections to family and friends have a support network to help them deal with family stressors. Isolated parents are known to be at greater risk for child abuse and neglect. 5
• Concrete supports for parents – involves ensuring parents have all they require to meet the basic needs such as food, shelter, transportation, and clothing for their family. Additionally, the ability to access essential services, such as healthcare and childcare, reduce stress and prevent child abuse and neglect. 6

Ways to Prevent Child Abuse Risk Factors

Preventing child abuse risk factors involves numerous efforts including child sexual assault prevention classes. As opposed to the child abuse prevention protective factors that aim to change a parent's behavior, the child sexual assault prevention programs aim to reduce the risk of child abuse by changing the child's behavior. This is done by educating children on physical abuse and sexual abuse , as well as how to avoid risky situations. Additionally, knowing how to respond to abuse, if it takes place, is also part of child abuse prevention programs.

Home visitation can also be a powerful tool in preventing child abuse. Home visits can alert professionals to developing risky situations and provide parents with the information needed to avoid them becoming full-blown child abuse cases. 7

Ten Ways to Prevent Child Abuse

According to Prevent Child Abuse America, here are ten things you can do to prevent child abuse: 8

• Be a nurturing parent
• Help a friend, relative or neighbor
• Help yourself
• Know what to do if your baby cries
• Get involved in developing the services needed to meet the needs of children and families
• Look into parenting resources at your local library and help develop resources if needed
• Promote child abuse prevention programs at school
• Monitor your child's television and video viewing as violent images can harm young children
• Volunteer at a local child abuse prevention program
• Report suspected child abuse or child neglect

article references

APA Reference Tracy, N. (2021, December 17). Child Abuse Prevention: How to Stop Child Abuse, HealthyPlace. Retrieved on 2024, April 3 from https://www.healthyplace.com/abuse/child-abuse-information/child-abuse-prevention-how-to-stop-child-abuse

Medically reviewed by Harry Croft, MD

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Child Abuse and Neglect Essay

Introduction, events to strengthen the family.

Children are vulnerable individuals whose welfare is dependent on their parents or guardians. This exposes the children to the risk of suffering abuse and neglect from their caretakers. Hunt (2014) declares that the maltreatment of children occurs across all socio-economic, cultural and ethnic groups with negative consequences on the development of the child. Child abuse and neglect have deleterious effects on the future life of the child.

It is therefore necessary to take steps to tackle these issues and ensure the healthy emotional and physical development of the child. This paper will describe four events that can be implemented to strengthen the family and therefore reduce or eliminate incidents of child abuse and neglect.

Playgroup events can play a major role in strengthening the family on issues of child abuse and neglect is playgroups. Parents who come from the same neighborhood or those whose children attend the same school or daycare facility can form playgroups. The events provide a chance for families with similar interests and children of the same ages to connect with each other and share their experiences. Selph and Bougatsos (2013) reveal that the events are hugely beneficial to both the parents and their children.

The children are able to develop through play and interaction with their peers. The social skills and learning of the children is enhanced as they engage in play activities. Research indicates that play groups contribute to shaping family life and equipping parents with the tools necessary to engage in the challenging task of raising children (Hunt, 2014). Playgroup events provide an informal forum for parents to discuss their parenting issues and concern.

Nilsen (2010) confirms that parents are not only able to obtain important advice from their peers, but they also get to realize that other people are going through the same hurdles as they are. This is empowering especially to new parents who might feel overwhelmed by the difficulties of parenting.

These events also promote a feeling of community and each parent begins to take an interest in the wellbeing of the children of his/her friend. This makes it possible to identify incidents of abuse among children in the playgroup and take appropriate action in response.

A church/synagogue/mosque retreat activity for parents and they children can be beneficial in strengthening parents to deal with the issues of child abuse and neglect. Religion plays an important role in the lives of many individuals and they rely on their faith to inform their actions in many situations. The religious institute can therefore play a major role in promoting child safety in the community (Nilsen, 2010).

A retreat event can be planned for the parents in the congregation on a weekend. This retreat will be sponsored by the religious body, which will make it affordable to all the parents. An important advantage of faith-based events is that they possess significant resources since the congregation is made up of a variety of professionals including teachers, nurses, pediatricians, and social works. These professionals will be able to provide free advice on how to safeguard children during the retreat (Hunt, 2014).

Another benefit of the faith-based event is that it relies on the shared religious beliefs of the participants. The religious beliefs of the parents can therefore be used to exhort them to engage in good parenting practices. The religious-based family retreat will provide numerous opportunities for the families to socialize with each other.

There will be coffee breaks during which the parents and children will interact with each other and exchange contacts. Veteran parents will share their experiences and provide advice to the younger parents. The faith-based event will therefore serve as a good opportunity for the parents to establish social support systems.

Technological events can play a part in mitigating child abuse and neglect in the society. Specifically, parents can make use of online forums to learn about appropriate parenting practices and acquire skills for protecting their children against abuse. The online forum should be designed to attract parents who wish to improve the safety and wellbeing of their children. This technological tool can include a facilitator who will initiate discussion topics and moderate the discussions taking place on the website.

Online forums enable parents to express their concerns and issues in a safe environment. Through online forums, parents can be linked to numerous resources for strengthening families. Nilsen (2010) documents that there is a correlation between exposure to educational resources and a decrease in incidents of child abuse and neglect. Parents are also able to gain tangible benefits from the online events. Through the event, parents are made aware of the community resources available to them as they raise their child.

Nilsen (2010) asserts that information on available community resources is of great importance especially to parents who are at-risk of neglecting their children due to limited economic resources. A benefit of online events is that they are accessible to many parents at their convenience.

Parents do not need to adjust their schedules in order to participate in these events. This is an important factor since most parents might be overwhelmed by obligations that make it impossible for them to engage in events that require them to be physically present at venues outside their home or work setting.

Parents can enroll on home visitation programs to assist in the prevention of child abuse and neglect. The home visitation event should be voluntary and semi-formal in nature. An important feature of these events is that Nurses or Educators, who possess expert knowledge on childhood development, carry them out. These experts are able to convey to the parents professional information on subjects such as positive parenting practices.

Selph and Bougatsos (2013) reveal that such events can be of great service to pregnant women as well as families with young children. Through the home visitation, the parents are provided with information about their child’s development. The professionals can also help parents to gain a better understanding about age-appropriate behavior for their children. The home visitation events should be developed with cultural factors in mind.

Different cultures have varying values and customs that influence how the parents deal with their children. Nilsen (2010) asserts that the professionals engaging in the visitation must demonstrate sensitivity to cultures whose values and customs are different from their own. The strengths of the specific culture should be exploited to increase the safety of the child. In cultures were extended family bounds are strong, the visitation events can be scheduled to include some of the members of the extended family.

These members can be equipped to provide assistance to at-risk children and parents within their family. Parents who enroll in home visitation events are well equipped to engage in positive parenting and as a result, they engage in fewer acts of physical aggression towards their children (Promising Practices Network, 2010).

Child abuse and neglect have a lasting negative impact on the lives of children. This paper set out to discuss events that can be used to strengthen families and therefore mitigate or prevent these damaging issues from happening.

The paper has described playgroup events, faith-based activities, technological events, and home visitation programs that can be used to strengthen families. By implementing these events, the family will be equipped to prevent child abuse and neglect therefore ensuring the healthy psychological and physical wellbeing of the child.

Hunt, K. (2014). Safeguarding children – the need for vigilance. Practice Nurse, 44 (6), 18-22.

Nilsen, B. A. (2010). Week by Week: Plans for Documenting Children’s Development. NY: Cengage Learning.

Promising Practices Network. (2010). Promising Practices for Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect . NY: RAND Corporation.

Selph, S. & Bougatsos, C. (2013). Behavioral Interventions and Counseling to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect: A Systematic Review to Update the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation. Annals of Internal Medicine, 158 (3), 179-190.

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IvyPanda. (2020, March 26). Child Abuse and Neglect. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-abuse-and-neglect/

"Child Abuse and Neglect." IvyPanda , 26 Mar. 2020, ivypanda.com/essays/child-abuse-and-neglect/.

IvyPanda . (2020) 'Child Abuse and Neglect'. 26 March.

IvyPanda . 2020. "Child Abuse and Neglect." March 26, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-abuse-and-neglect/.

1. IvyPanda . "Child Abuse and Neglect." March 26, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-abuse-and-neglect/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Child Abuse and Neglect." March 26, 2020. https://ivypanda.com/essays/child-abuse-and-neglect/.

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