Estefania Reyes
English 2- Block 2
Ms. McKoy
25 January, 2013
Why Hurt A Child?
When, I was about 11 years old I read a story about a 15 year old, who had gone through physical child abuse. She went through physical abuse for about four years. The story made me wonder why a parent or someone hurt an innocent child like that. I asked my parents about child abuse. I read stories about child abuse. My parents told me that there were several different types of child abuse, but the type of abuse that drew my attention the most was physical child abuse. I was very shocked by the stories I read and what my parents told me. I found out that there were children younger than I was, that were being physically abused every day. The stories I read about physical child abuse made me want to know more about the effects it has on a child’s lifestyle and their future.
The website of the American Humane association helped me realize how child abuse can be treated. The website is credible because it has information that is true and can be found in other websites. The American Humane Association website has links that are useful which makes it credible. Physical child abuse is defined as a non-accidental trauma or physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning, or otherwise harming a child, physical abuse is the most visible form of child maltreatment(American Humane Association). In the United States there were 3.3 million child abuse cases and of those cases 16.6 percent were victims of physical child abuse (American Humane Association). Many physically abusive parents might claim that the physical abuse they are doing to their children is just a way of discipline ways to make children learn to behave. Disciplining children is to teach them what right from wrong, not to leave them with scars and bruises! The behavior of a child might indicate when something is going on. They may go through withdrawal and behavior changes. Some might also become chronic runaways. (American Humane Association) Physical child abuse can have severe effects such as: brain damage, vision or hearing loss that leads to disabilities, depression, and anxiety. Emotional, behavioral, or learning problems can also be an effect from physical abuse. (Healthy Place)
I would like to further research the effects of physical child abuse because it is an important topic in today’s society. Physical child abuse has become an epidemic in the United States and we are only aware of what happens during the physical abuse not about the disorders that are caused by the physical abuse. I want to know what the reason to hurting a child physically. Physical child abuse causes an effect on a child’s future because they can become violent or develop disorders.
