Target Child Abuse
TARGET CHILD ABUSE
When people think of child abuse they usually believe that abusers neglect and victimize all of their children equally. This is not always the case. Targeting one child for abuse is actually more common than people would believe. Many parents single out one individual child for their negative attention and abusive treatment. Typically these parents will also pick one child to be their favorite, showering that child with attention, praise, gifts and tolerance. The emotional and psychological scars run deep for the Target Child for many reasons.
First is the fact that the victim child begins to believe that there is something wrong with THEM, that they are somehow defective, "bad", or inferior to the others. They feel that they are not worthy of being treated with love and respect. They observe their siblings being treated with kindness and respect, they are never told "NO" and are given whatever their hearts desire. They are never struck or told that they are worthless.
Second is the fact that the other siblings themselves come to view the target child as being inferior or "bad", after all why would their otherwise wonderful, attentive and loving mommy and/or daddy be so mean to the victim child. This form of abuse sets up a family dynamic, or pecking order that establishes the target child as clearly the lowest man on the totem. This attitude towards the target child is so deeply embedded in their siblings that it is a dynamic that is hard to overcome. The others will continue to disregard the feelings of their "inferior" sibling and will treat them with a disdain through out their adult life. There is no incentive for the favored siblings to change anything about themselves as they have always been confident, secure and satisfied, after all THEY aren't the ones with the problem.
Another issue is that the Target Child has to deal with the fact that outsiders view the family as "normal", or even "top notch". Typically the parents
When people think of child abuse they usually believe that abusers neglect and victimize all of their children equally. This is not always the case. Targeting one child for abuse is actually more common than people would believe. Many parents single out one individual child for their negative attention and abusive treatment. Typically these parents will also pick one child to be their favorite, showering that child with attention, praise, gifts and tolerance. The emotional and psychological scars run deep for the Target Child for many reasons.
First is the fact that the victim child begins to believe that there is something wrong with THEM, that they are somehow defective, "bad", or inferior to the others. They feel that they are not worthy of being treated with love and respect. They observe their siblings being treated with kindness and respect, they are never told "NO" and are given whatever their hearts desire. They are never struck or told that they are worthless.
Second is the fact that the other siblings themselves come to view the target child as being inferior or "bad", after all why would their otherwise wonderful, attentive and loving mommy and/or daddy be so mean to the victim child. This form of abuse sets up a family dynamic, or pecking order that establishes the target child as clearly the lowest man on the totem. This attitude towards the target child is so deeply embedded in their siblings that it is a dynamic that is hard to overcome. The others will continue to disregard the feelings of their "inferior" sibling and will treat them with a disdain through out their adult life. There is no incentive for the favored siblings to change anything about themselves as they have always been confident, secure and satisfied, after all THEY aren't the ones with the problem.
Another issue is that the Target Child has to deal with the fact that outsiders view the family as "normal", or even "top notch". Typically the parents