Child abuse is defined as intentional acts that result in physical or emotional harm to children. Child abuse covers a wide range of behaviour from physical assault from parents or other adult caretakers to the neglect of a child's basic needs.
I am strongly against child abuse and I find it impossible to think that anyone could approve of it. People will say that everybody is against it but what about abusers themselves? You would not think they could be against child abuse or else they would not perform such acts on children. Forms of physical abuse include acts of violence, which are deliberate and can injure or sometimes kill a child. Signs of child abuse could be unexplained bruises, broken bones or burn marks on a child's body. Emotional abuse, which can destroy a child's self-esteem, includes repeated verbal abuse such as shouting, threats and degrading or humiliating criticism. Other types of emotional abuse are confinement, such as shutting a child in a dark closet, and social isolation, such as denying a child friends. The most common, however, is neglect, physical and emotional. Physical neglect can include a parent failing to provide their child/children with food, clothing, shelter or any medical care. I think that is something that every one of us should think about. Most of us probably take everything we get for granted, particularly the four things above. The majority of children will come in from school, into a warm house and sit down and have dinner with their families or go and get changed into more comfortable clothes. When we are ill an appointment will be made to see a doctor, and very few of us will think twice about how lucky we are. Emotional neglect includes a parent or other adult behaving in a cold and unaffectionate way towards a child. They do not give them any attention or love. More severe forms of emotional neglect include letting a child take alcohol or use drugs or encouraging them to behave badly.