Friday, March 23, 2012
Violence....Consequences of Stress on Children's Development
As a child I had a good friend who suffered the stresses of violence in the home. She lived with her mother who had a boyfriend who was very nice until he consumed alchohol. Once he had his fix he became very violent emotionally and physically. He would do a lot of loud talking and profanity. This he would do toward her mother and the kids. He would even be in such a rage that sometime he physically abuse her mother. He never hit the children though. She had three other siblings. This really effected my friend negatively. She would come to school she couldnt concentrate, she was always sleepy, and she barely ate anything. This went on for a couple of years until we got to middle school and I could really see a difference in her. She said that she was now living with her grandmother and things were great. Her grades started to improve, and she began to be very outgoing and happy again. She stayed with her grandma up until we graduated and went on to be a very successful teacher in North, MS. There were stressors in her life, but she pushed on and eventually was able to overcome them and move on with her life in a positive way.
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Hi Katrina
ReplyDeleteChild abuse is pervasive throughout many countries and cultures. I looked at child abuse in the Netherlands.
In the Netherlands, child abuse “is approached primarily as a family, medical or psychosocial problem. Criminal law only appears in the case of sexual abuse or serious physical abuse.” (Nederlands Jeugd instituut, n.d.).
To protect children, the Dutch have policies to heighten awareness, created reporting centres for children, families and professionals, and have established laws to ban such practices as female circumcision (Nederlands Jeudg instituut, n.d.). In this system however, they have noticed an increase of almost 12% in children self reporting incidences of abuse from 2009 to 2010 (Nederlands Jeugd instituut, n.d.).
Nederlands Jeugd instituut, (n.d.). Child protection and child abuse. Retrieved from http://www.youthpolicy.nl/eCache/DEF/1/06/360.html
Carolyn
I see this alot in working with underprivilage children, often times the stories children are asked to keep quiet are seen in role play in dramatic play or in outside play with aggression....Is her mom still with this guy today? What happen to her other siblings were they as fortunate as your friend to go to a loving home and overcome the violence in the home. Often times when a young child is stress its a signal for help. Do you remember anyone when you were growing up with her reach out and try to help? I am so happy she was able to overcome her past and be successful.
ReplyDeleteI see this problem all the time and I feel sorry for people like that. I was in a situation like this with my mother. By mom boyfriend use to beat her to but he did not drink alchohol. He beat her because he was jealous because she be with her friends. I would like to know if she still with the boyfriend now or if she have move on with somebody? But you know I made it to throw the storm.
ReplyDeleteAlcohol is often the biggest and most frequent issue I deal with in my position. In sadly, effect more children than I realized. I am glad your friend was able to overcome her family struggles and lead a great life!
ReplyDelete