(Lindsay 1) .
Verbal abuse can also be part of child abuse. Scolding a child and verbally hurting a child may lower a child's self-esteem. (Lindsay 1) .
Many times, when a child is abused, that child is not taken to get medical help, even when the wounds or injuries may be very severe. If a child is taken to get medical help, the help is usually from a secondary member of the family. Since abuse is committed often and "with the emergence of mandated report" abuse is looked at as a side roll was "transformed into center stage". (Lindsay 1) The crackdown on child abuse has made parents confused about disciplining their children.
Since many parents are confused about showing their children how to gain self-discipline, they do not know whether to hit them or not. Most people think that by hitting a child, they are showing them violence. Some people think that hitting a child will stop the wrong doing by the children and help him gain discipline.
Some parents feel that they own their children, and should be able to abuse a child who is are misbehaving (Lindsay 1). Some factors that lead to abuse may include parents being too young and not ready for children or angered parents taking out their anger on their children. (Lindsay 1).
Some children who are punished physically are sometimes aggressive and abusive towards others. Other children who are physically punished do not act aggressive and grow up to be successful people. (Cohen 1) .
A survey at the University of Hartford also shows that 71% of the students who responded, said that they would not be the same person today without having received physical punishment. A student at the University of Hartford stated, "Physical punishment taught me respect for my parents and made me the man I am today"(Simpson).
There are many alternative forms of punishing a child for bad behavior that he or she commits. Many privileges may be taken away form the child such as watching television, computer use, and playing with friends.