Abuse vs Discipline Essay Example

Abuse vs Discipline Essay Example Abuse vs Discipline Paper Abuse vs Discipline Paper Blake Moss Abuse Versus Discipline A mother spanks her child in a public parking lot. While a nearby citizen watches in horror and begins to dial 911. Is this wrong? Does the mother have authority to do this to her own child? Who gets to decide how the mother disciplines her child? Why here? These are the questions that come across the mind of todays society. Most people would agree that the child did something â€Å"wrong,† but opinion collide on how the mother should discipline the child. Parents from generations ago would not have thought twice about this incident. In todays era, as technology has progressed so has the ideas of child abuse and discipline. What is the difference between child abuse vs. child discipline? Then Versus Now Disciplining children in the 1950s has been seen as strict, harsh and oppressive . In fact, children were often meant to be seen but not heard. Back then , if a child forgot to say â€Å"sir† or â€Å"maam† behind their statement to a teacher or another adult, he or she had the possibility of taking a blow from a switch to the rear. This is a lot different from generations growing up today. Children are almost never taught proper manners when addressing higher authority figures. Some parents turn their heads at any sign of physical discipline. Statistics Statistics show a report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. Another shows that more than five children die from child abuse every day. That means everyday about 9,000 reports of child abuse are made. Children are less likely to die from child abuse if they are active in the community or attend a public school system. 80% of children who die from child abuse are under the age of four . The other 20% are in elementary schools. This dramatic difference is due to authorities and professionals helping to protect children. Why dont the children tell? Statistics say that over 90% of children who are sexually abused, know who their abuser is. Children are terrified of their abuser so, they protect abuser in hope that they wont hurt them or their family. 30% of the children who are abused will go on to abuse others later on in life. The abused have a 80% chance to developing some kind of psychological disorder. They have a higher risk of being sent to prison as will. Statistics show that 14% of all men in prison were abused as a child and that 36% of women in prison were abused. Abuse and Neglect by Law Child abuse by law in the Child Welfares Information Gateway in Missouri as â€Å"Any physical injury inflicted on a child by other than accidental means by those responsible for the child’s care, custody, and control. † This means that any physical punishment such as a bar of soap in the mouth, is seen as abuse. The person who put the soap in the childs mouth is abusing them. Neglect is defined in this article as well it is â€Å"Failure to provide, by those responsible for the care, custody, and control of the child, proper or necessary support; education as required by law; nutrition; or medical, surgical, or any other care necessary for the child’s well-being. † When the state says this, it does not define â€Å"proper support. † This leaves room for interpretation. In some parents mind if you do not celebrate a child’s ‘B+’ grade then you are neglecting him or her. Is it correct for the state to tell parents how to discipline their children in certain ways? Abuse and Neglect by Definition The dictionary says child abuse is â€Å"mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation. † By this definition the amount of the action is not defined. Also, beating and neglect are not defined; this leaves room for interpretation again. Some may interpret it as laying a hand on a child at all, where other may take it as leaving a bruise. Neglect can be defined as â€Å"failure of caretakers to provide adequate emotional and physical care for a child† in the dictionary. This â€Å"adequate† definition still has room for interpretation. This may mean enough to stay alive such as one meal a week, or it may mean three large meals a day. Who gets to make these interpretations? Is it the caretaker or parents or the child or is it the state? Discipline by Definition Discipline is â€Å"the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. † A question that comes to mine is; who gets define the amount of â€Å"punishment? † And who gets to decide the rules and code of behavior? Is it the parents or guardians, or is it the governmental agencies? If a child is doing something wrong and the parent chooses to â€Å"swat† the child then they are violating the law because they are inflicting â€Å"physical injury inflicted on the child. † Is this wrong or is it right? Christians Opinion Proverbs 23:13-15 says â€Å"Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol. My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. † This is not saying to beat until the child can not stand it is saying that if a parent uses physical discipline they will not die. Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death. † This quote comes from Proverbs 19:18. So what is Christians view on discipline? It is okay to use physical and mental discipline. God elaborates throughout his holy book that He not only believes in physical discipline, but recommends it. He states this multiple tim es in the bible and shows many examples of it. He is not encouraging child abuse by any means. However, by the ideas of society now; God would find abuse alright. No Discipline What would a child grow up to be if he or she were never disciplined? Spoiled. If a child was never told â€Å"No† they would come to the conclusion that they were always correct. Even if that was not the case, a child would never quite know the meaning behind right and wrong. They would never learn to respect others and even worse themselves. Hard work would no longer play a major role in the development of life without discipline. In the movie â€Å"A Christmas Story† Ralph says a curse word in front of his father, and he is punished by a bar of soap in his mouth. Now in your opinion is this wrong? After Ralph is sent to bed his mother puts the bar of soap in her mouth for the same exact reason. She was brought up to believe that it is wrong to curse and she knows that it is only fair for her to also be punished. If the mother had never been punished by the soap she would of never learned to punish her children in the same manor. This is only one example why discipline is necessary. Children might not think that it is fair to get a spanking, but they learn their lesson. A child without any disciple will never know right from wrong or bad verses good. But, where is the fine line drawn between discipline and abuse? Side Effects Physical abuse and neglect have immediate and long-term effects on a child’s development. The long-term effects can be seen in higher rates of psychiatric disorders, increased rates of drug and alcohol abuse, and a variety of relationship difficulties. The most common perpetrators of child abuse and neglect are found in people who have been abused and neglected themselves. There is proof to show the connection between child abuse and the neglect and psychological, emotional, behavioral, and interpersonal disorders later in his or her life. Studies have shown that a child uses the parent’s state of mind to regulate the child’s own mental processes. A child needs a sensitive and responsible parent in order to form their own mind set into knowing right from wrong. Children who have been sexually abused are at significant risk of developing anxiety disorders, major depressive disorders alcohol abuse drug abuse and antisocial behavior. Children who were sexually abused, also have a higher risk of becoming a predator themselves later in life. In the novel â€Å"A Child Called It† by David Pelzer, you see the major physical abuse and neglect that he endured for many treacherous years. This book shows you how an abused mother continues the cycle of abuse on her own child. If you continue reading the novel series you come to a book called â€Å"A Man Named Dave,† throughout this book you see the exact troubles that a grown man struggles with in order to overcome the effects of child abuse. This series shows the horrendous cycle of abuse, not only affecting the child but, people they encounter for the rest of their life. The Effort to Stop AbuseKids Matter Inc. is a group of parents in Milwaukee trying to make child abuse and neglect extinct. The members come from all different types of professions such as, doctors and teachers. They are a small organization that puts volunteer energy into their neediest kids. This organization was formed in 2000 and has been growing rapidly ever since. Every Child Matters is another organization devoted to stopping child abuse by policies. This effort is a paper filled effort. They try to promote new policies to give children the necessary equipment to have a better tomorrow. They ensure that children have access to affordable, comprehensive health care services. They promote and expand the early-care and learning opportunities and after-school programs. Also they prevent violence against children in their homes and relive child poverty. Child Welfare is the most well know child abuse organization devoted to protecting children. This organization is sponsored through the government. It allows the group to actually step in and take the child from their home of abuse, into a home with love and affection. This agency helps protect children from their abusers. The Child Welfare’s website provides all kinds of information which regards to protecting children. They have state by state abuse definitions. This website has been helpful in trying to define â€Å"child abuse by law. † Also it shows the guide lines to mandatory reporting of child abuse. Mandatory Reports In the state of Missouri, professionals are the only people required to report abuse. This is the law in Missouri and in 33 other states. In Missouri, the professionals that they are meaning are medical, educational, religious, governmental, and photographers. Also, any other persons responsible for the care of children must report. Do these professionals know the difference? Sometimes they might be able to tell the main difference such as a red mark versus a deep bruise. It would be difficult for some professionals to tell because children are clumsy. The exceptions to these policies are two main people. They are the religious and governmental. For the religious, there is a â€Å"Clergy-penitent privilege. † This is to protect the people who talk to their priest. This protects them so the person who does the confessional does not have to suffer any more. The governmental exception is the â€Å"Attorney-client privilege. † This exception is only acceptable in 22 states. This privilege is specifically confirmed. Conclusion In conclusion children do need an understanding of discipline.. discipline allows the child to grow and learn there are boundaries in life. When discipline becomes beating a child nothing is learned. Abuse only teaches the child it is ok to abuse others. Parents determine the amount of discipline the exception to this is when the parent takes it to far and teaches or government agencies may step in. abuse can be stopped if the community will do its part and help raise children in a good structured environment