To Raise a Hurt Child: Effects of Abuse

To Raise a Hurt Child

Effect of Abuse

Jannice Quevedo

English Honors Period 9

Mrs. Toy

31 May 2017

Jannice Quevedo

Mrs. Toy

English II Honors Period 7/8

31 May 2017

To Raise a Hurt Child: Effects of Abuse

Thesis Statement: Mentally or physically abusing a child creates everlasting mental problems that would then continue into adulthood, continuously creating roadblocks for the person trying to achieve greatness.          

1. Intro

1. Illustrate the importance of how parents and the surrounding environment of a child affects the child’s upbringing.

1. Say that children are aware of the environment around them.  

1. Paint the picture of a negative environment

1. Say how a negative environment effect a child tremendously mentally and physically.

1. Body

1. Neglect

1. Situation of infants experiencing neglect in Romanian orphanage
2. Physical impact of neglect: The development of the brain
3. Mental impact of neglect: The psychological symptoms of neglect

1. Physical Abuse

1. Importance of parents engaging with children in positive manner
2. The effect of a stressful environment on a child and how the child then reacts to stressful environments
3. Explain observation done on abused and non-abused children and how they react to others in pain.
4. Mental impact of physical abuse

1. Conclusion

1. The statics of child abuse

1. Number of children abuse in America

1. The positive work done to prevent and aid victims of child abuse

1. Mentioning of work being done to aid children of abuse to lead better lives.

Jannice Quevedo

Mrs. Toy

English II Honors Period 7/8

31 May 2017

To Raise a Hurt Child: Effects of Abuse

        Who must humans thank for being themselves? Over seven billion people in this world: all with unique and separate personalities, will choose all types of roads of life. In a human being’s life span, the first years of their lives are crucial as they develop into children, soon into teens, and lastly into adults. The surroundings of a child, the environment, and the people, make up the industrial parts of a child’s mental upbringing. It is proven that children are sponges soaking up every detail of their environment. The parents or guardians of the child are what affects the environment of a child. The environment could be full of love, laughter, and affection. However, imagine the complete opposite, the neglecting of a child, ignoring a child’s potential for greatness. With no stimulation of gratitude, or happiness toward the child, what mindset will the child grow? Mentally or physically abusing a child creates everlasting mental problems that would then continue into adulthood, continuously creating roadblocks for the person trying to achieve greatness.          

        Furthermore, the abused of children comes in many forms: neglect, burning, beating, suffocating or other forms of mistreatment.  In the case of infants in a Romanian orphanage, the infants were silent. The environment developed in the orphanage was that of a non-loving, non-engaging environment. "The most remarkable thing about the infant room was how quiet it was, probably because the infants had learned that their cries were not responded to." The lack of noise that usually comes from newborns, the cooing, the crying, and the giggles have been deprived from the infants themselves. The infants have been left to stimulate themselves, “many stared at their own hands, trying to derive whatever stimulation they could from the world around them.” The psychological and neurological aspect of the scene pictured are infants being robbed from learning capabilities, such as cognitive abilities. If the staff at the orphanage were to have sung to them, given them toys, they would’ve learned a language or gain motor skills faster. Researchers began to take an MRI scans of the brain of the orphaned children who were the infants of the orphanage.  It was concluded from the MRI scan that institutionalized children had smaller brains, with a lower count of neurons and the nerve fibers that transmit signals between neurons. It is evident that early-on deprivation of stimulation to the brain affects how a child begins to interpret the world. According to Shaffer, children who are suffering from neglect receive little opportunities to get guided and cooperative learning. The ignoring of the caregiver leaves the neglected child to fail from obtaining knowledgeable stimulation. Additionally, deserted children have received little to no affection and social stimulation from their parent or guardian. That said, from the caregiver, the abandoned child in the end only gains emotions of fear, anxiousness, depression, and little self-esteem. (Shaffer 634 and 635). (Weir)

        Moreover, learning to relate in a satisfying manner to peers and adults is a major developmental task of childhood. (Schwartz and Johnson 2). To be loved by a parent is the most important feeling to a child, it is the proof that they are worthy.  It is fulfilling the child’s needs that creates a healthy brain development. By the encountering the world around them in a healthy manner, the children receive stability mentally, as well as create a sense of security. (Effects of Child Abuse and Neglect) As a child lives in an environment that is abusive and stressful, the child may begin to develop emotional and behavioral problems. In the case of abused children, a disturbing consequence from the trauma is a development for a lack of empathy to those in distress. An observation was done in a daycare, by Mary Main and Carol George.  The observation consisted of observing how abused children and how non-abuse children reacted to the distress of other children in the daycare. Concluded from the experiment was that non-abused children attended to the distressed children in a caring manner. However, the mistreated children reacted by not showing appropriate concern for their peers. Instead, the abused children mostly acted aggressively, becoming angry and attacking the fellow children who were in distress. It is evident that children who have a past of abuse have grown to view any type of distress as a nuisance. By their home environment, they have grown to believe that crying, or any other signals of pain are just irritating to others. Therefore, it is to be said that it is most likely that children who have trauma from past abusive experience react to others in pain by building anger instead of compassion for them. The abused child grows to be unable to connect with other easily, grows to be unable to easily trust others, and grows to feel unworthy. It is a continuous road of unhappiness and angst from these children that also prevent them from succeeding, it is the trauma the children live with for the rest of their lives. (Shaffer 634 and 635)