Long Lasting Effects Of Child Abuse Essay

The Long Lasting Effects of Child Abuse Millions of children in the world have dealt with or seen someone they know deal with abuse. There are many different types of abuse. Sexual abuse, verbal abuse, physical abuse and neglect are all different types of ways a child can be caused harm. In reading of “Breathing Underwater” by Alex Flinn and “A Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer, I found that child abuse was a common theme between the two. The main character in each book was abused or harmed in some type of way by their parent. Child abuse can have many long lasting effects on its victims. The way a person is raised plays a major role on the way they deal with things in their adult life such as problems, relationships, and parenting. In this essay, I will explore the positive and negative effects of child abuse. There are many ways to tell that a child has been abused. Often times there will be bruises and many other apparent marks on the child. But, being that abuse can also be verbal, it is sometimes hard to tell that the child is being abused unless they come out and tell which doesn’t happen very often. For
instance, in “Breathing Underwater”, Nick, the main character appeared to be cool to his peers. “I wished, also, to be one-tenth as cool as people thought I was …” (Flinn 25). This shows that he hid the fact that he was being abused very well. Other victims do not hide their abuse as well and have traits such as depression, quietness, submissiveness, and hostility/stress. These traits could stay with them even into adulthood. Other signs of abuse could be an extreme hunger, due to neglect. Even a inappropriate interest in sexual knowledge or acts could be a sign of sexual abuse. One of the most common effects of child abuse is the psychological impact it will leave on the victim. Child abuse can leave a tremendous impact on a person’s thought process and in some cases even drive the victim insane. In some cases, the victim feels isolated. In “A Child Called It”, Dave was the only person targeted by his mother to abuse. Other siblings were described throughout the book but were never victims to the abuse as Dave was. Other psychological effects of child abuse are the fear they feel on a daily basis. This leads to the victims feeling as if everyone is out to get them and they lose the ability to trust anyone. Affecting a person psychologically can also make them question their religion. In both books I found both Dave and Nick questioning whether or not there was a God because of the horrible things they were going through. They both felt alone and as if there was no way there could be a higher being. "No just God would leave me like this. I believed that I was alone in my struggle and that my battle was one of survival" (Pelzer 131). “… lying despite the oath. I wonder if God is listening, if God exists.” (Flinn 6) From a physical aspect, child abuse can go from mild, such as minor cuts, bruises, or scrapes, to severe, such as broken bones and long lasting damage. Shaken baby syndrome is very common and could come from an abusive mother shaking a baby to stop it from crying. This syndrome could go un-noticed because the effects of it are very hard to see. Damage from this syndrome could cause bleeding of the eye or brain and damage to the spinal cord making it hard for the infant to be able to walk normally as they get older. In the case of an older child, effects could be things such as impaired brain development making it hard for the child to learn like other children. In “A Child Called it”¸Dave encountered many different forms of physical abuse from his mother. “As mother grabbed my arm she lost her balance and staggered back a step. As she jerked violently, to regain her stability I heard something pop and felt an intense pain in my shoulder and arm.” (Pelzer 34) this is just one example of the physical abuse Dave went through and many other people in the world, just like Dave, have had similar, if not the same encounters. Children with behavioral problems often have dealt with abuse in the home.
Not all kids who experience abuse will become behavioral problems, but some of them do. Studies have found abused and neglected children to be at least 25 percent more likely to experience problems such as delinquency, teen pregnancy, low academic achievement, drug use, and mental health problems (Kelley, Thornberry, & Smith, 1997). Some children who have been abused use the same methods when they have children of their own. When a person has been a victim of abuse, they will often abuse their children or even their spouse the same way they were abused during their childhood. In the book “Breathing Underwater”, Nick, the main character, slaps his girlfriend during an argument. I think he only does this because of the way his father has mentally and physically abused
him. In some cases, if the victims live to tell the story of their abuse, they can be very inspirational like that of Pelzer”. All the encounters in the book are based on the life he lived during his child hood. Some people say that being abused as a child has made them a stronger and better person. They are able to stand up for themselves and have become better parents because of it. They are usually more lenient and do not chastise their children at all because they do not want them go through the things they went through. Many parents have come up with different methods of chastising their children without hitting or depriving them. The time out method has stemmed from parents who find it unnecessary to beat their kids and can be very effective. Many parents feel that if they hit their kids they will take it too far. “My relationship with Mom drastically changed from discipline to punishment that grew out of control” (Pelzer 29) Victims of child abuse have many lasting effects on their life stemming from the abuse they went through as children. It takes a lot of care for a child to grow up and become a good parent as well as a levelheaded adult. Sometimes being abused during childhood can make a person stronger, and sometimes it can make them weaker. There are many ways to prevent child abuse. If you see anything suspicious about a child, call your local police station and get them help. Everyone deserves the chance to live a normal life free of being tortured by anyone, let alone his or her parents.