All child abuse is wrong, especially neglectful abuse, physical abuse, and emotional abuse. However, a person shouldn’t let their past experiences of child abuse control their life or determine their future. In Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, B.C. Forbes explained this best by saying, “The most notable winners usually encountered heart-breaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.” (Canfield, J., Hansen, M., Hansen, P., and Dunlap, I., 1996)
Abuse will also create behavioral effects such as problems in school, teen pregnancy, suicide attempts, criminal behavior, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, eating disorders, and spousal abuse. One of every three abused children will grow up to become an abusive parent. (Prevent Child Abuse America, 2002)
Even in the NKJV Bible, scriptures talk about Jehoshuba taking Joash and hiding him in her room so Athalian couldn’t kill him. (p.380) However, another scripture in the NKJV Bible that says, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (p.971)
Emotional abuse is a sad but real factor in many people’s lives. In A Child Called “It,” Dave Pelzer talks about how his mother “no longer considered him a son but a slave and no longer a boy but an it.” (p.27)
The best way to comprehend this is by reading what Carol Burnett wrote in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. She said, “You have to have faith that there is a reason you go through certain things. I can’t say I’m glad to go through pain, but in a way one must in order to gain courage and really feel joy.” (Canfield, J., Hansen, M., Hansen, P., and Dunlap, I., 1996)
neverlands
Hey Tamara!
I agree with you about child abuse being wrong. I don’t think a child should be abused for something as small as breaking a glass or something. I can understand a child receiving a “spanking” from their parent for disipline, but not just because the parent had a bad day. Child abuse is something the child will never forget, no matter how much therapy they go through.
Child abuse is WAYYY beyond wrong. But I agree with you, any child who is being abused or has been abused should not let the past control their life. I believe that parents who cannot control themselves with their children are too immature to have them.
Tamara,
You are so right, child abuse is wrong and I hope that no one will ever think it right to do so. A person’s past does affect their future in so many ways and so many important decisions that they would later make. I read “A Child Called It” and this book is truly amazing and horrid at the same time. Think, so many children in the world live pretty much everyday like Dave did and they’re too afraid to come out and tell anyone for fear of getting more abuse or maybe deep down inside, they just don’t want to lose someone they’re sappose to love. Great Job :]
Hey Tamara
I agree; all child abuse is wrong. While the victims of abuse are emotionally scarred, some of them ,somehow, also abuse others. I remember reading the book, A Child Called It. It made me SOO sad to read that little boy’s story. He was tortured in many ways, physically and emotionally, and reduced to be considered not human by his mother. I mean… discipline for a child is needed.. but not to the point where someone is being scarred for the rest of their lives.
This makes me sad
I know when I read “A Child Called It” I was very sad because if you think of all the children around the world whose daily life is similar to David you are more grateful for the life that you’ve been blessed with.
In agreement with Kambri’s response, if a parent is so immature that they take their frustation out on their children, then they shouldn’t even have been blessed with that wonderful child. Of course, God has a plan for everything so he might have made David go through these expierences so that he could write his book, and those books might have changed hundreds of lives – probably decreasng the rate of child abuse quite a bit.
I would agree that child abuse is the most imoral type of abuse there is, even though any abuse is totally wrong. Throught the world there is a lot of child abuse that i cannot even stand it. After hearing about the novel “A Child Called ‘It’,” i was very depressed at how the world can go on with so much abuse towards the generation of tomorrow. I think this topic is very good and in need to have more comments and news about.