You never know what might be going on behind closed doors.
No matter how well you know your neighbors, family or friends, it is possible there is more than what meets the eye.
With April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month use this opportunity to check the well-being of the children in your life. Abuse can look like various things — it is not always physical. Even if you can’t see bruises or scars, all abuse can damage a child for the rest of their life.
Abuse can take on many forms — sexual, emotional, medical or even neglect. All forms of abuse cause trauma in a child’s life and further impact their adult life in the future.
According to the National Institute of Health, all forms of child abuse can lead to both psychological and somatic symptoms, as well as psychiatric and medical diagnoses like depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, chronic pain syndromes and other physical illnesses. Children who experience abuse are more likely to engage in high-risk health behaviors as adults such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, unsafe sex and others which ultimately create room for more danger in the individual’s life.
The NIH states childhood abuse is common, reporting nearly a 70% prevalence for childhood abuse in the United States.
So, how can we create a world that is safer for children?
Looking out for the signs a child is being abused can change a child’s life for the better. According to the Mayo Clinic, children who are being physically abused will likely have unexplained injuries or injuries that don’t match the given explanation. Sexual abuse can result in a child having sexual knowledge inappropriate for the child’s age, inappropriate sexual behavior with other children and other symptoms.
Children who experience emotional abuse are likely to display delayed or inappropriate emotional development, loss of self-confidence or self-esteem, a decrease in school performance, appearing to desperately seek attention and other symptoms indicative of emotional abuse.
If you see something, say something. It could potentially save a child’s life or give them a new one.
