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Child Abuse and Neglect Essay

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“Child Abuse”                                                    Child abuse is a very serious and controversial issue that is escalating in today’s society. As we look back to the 1940’s and 1950’s, it was almost unheard of to let anyone outside of your immediate family know anything about your personal life. Every family was thought to be, or shown to the general public to be, the “perfect family”. Some schools had the authority to punish a child by either spanking them with a paddle …show more content…

In the year 2000, three million referrals came into the Child Protective Services agencies in the United States to research the chance of child abuse (Bureau 1). Constantly beating a child can cause immediate memory loss and/or brain damage. In some cases, severe emotional damages may not surface until a child reaches adolescence. An adult that has been abused may have difficulty establishing healthy intimate relationships and may be at a higher risk for depression, substance abuse, anxiety, flashbacks, and nightmares. We can look at the recent event that is shocking the nation. As I looked at the late breaking news on the of Madelyne Gorman Toogood who was video taped after repeatedly slapping, and punching her daughter Martha as she placed her into her car seat. I felt sick to my stomach. I remember the words as I watched the interview on Mrs. Toogood. She stated, “Martha was just being Martha, she was pulling the barbies off the shelves and hiding from me. Martha didn’t deserve what she got, I just lost my temper” (Taped Beating 1). It is a scary thought that someone could bring himself or herself to beat a child in this manner.      I would encourage you to think about the following question. If the roles were reversed, would the abuser find it acceptable to be beaten upon? Parents who are committing these crimes need to think of that tiny, innocent child in the mother’s womb, so

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