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Child and Elder Abuse
Child Abuse
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) publishes a website called healthychildren.org. -- and the section called "What do I need to know about child abuse?" provides excellent information on the particulars of child abuse. The Healthy Children site points out that child abuse "…is common," and hence, with all the reports on television and in the newspapers about children being mistreated, it should cause parents, guardians, teachers and others to wonder if their child is truly safe. The advice given to teachers and parents is not to become "…overprotective" and not to make the child frightened of the unknown. But rather, to recognize the "actual risks" that are out there. And for those who interact with the child (like teachers, friends and parents of friends) it is important to become familiar with "signs of abuse" so that if indeed a child is suffering from abuse, something can be done (Healthy Children).
What are the signs of child abuse?
First of all, children who suffer from abuse are not likely to tell anyone because they fear they may be "…blamed or that no one will believe them"; moreover, children who are being abused may not want to tell anyone because the person abusing them is someone "…they love very much" (Healthy Children). Also, the person abusing the child may be a bully at school, and the child is afraid to report that activity because of possible repercussions (e.g., the bully may try to get even with the child for reporting him).
But that having been said, alert parents, teachers and others should know the signs that suggest a child has been abused. For parents, the following behavioral...
Interfering with a family based on speculation is not recommended. And even though doctors are "legally obligated to report all suspected cases of abuse or neglect to authorities," if a child doesn't go to regular physical checkups, he or she is not going to be helped in that way. Good parenting involves teaching the child "…some basic rules of safety in a nonthreatening manner," and encouraging the child to never do something against his will and to "keep his distance from strangers" (Healthy Children). When a teacher suspects that a child is being abused at home, he or she should follow through and notify the counselor and principal, and let the process take its course through the legal channels.
What crimes are elderly people most susceptible to?
Older people are sometimes…
Works Cited
Healthy Children. (2013). What do I need to know about child abuse? Retrieved October 17,
2013, from http://www.healthychildren.org.
Medline Plus. (2011). Elder Abuse. Retrieved October 17, 2013, from http://www.nim.nih.gov.
National Center on Elder Abuse. (2011). 15 Questions & Answers About Elder Abuse. Retrieved October 17, 2013, from http://www.elderabusecenter.org.
National Council on Aging (2012). Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors. Retrieved October 17, 2013 from http://www.ncoa.org.
Child and Elder Abuse Many children and frail elderly people are at risk of being abused largely because their ability to defend themselves is impaired. In the recent past, the media has been awash with many cases of abuse and neglect involving children and the elderly. In this text, I conduct an online research in an attempt to identify and analyze two recent cases of child and elder abuse. Case Recently, Alyssia Skinner
126). Although there are an increasing number of elderly in the United States today with many more expected in the future, the study of elder abuse is of fairly recent origin. During the last three decades of the 20th century, following the "discovery" of child abuse and domestic violence, scholars and professionals started taking an active interest in the subject of elder abuse. This increased attention from the academic
That is because older patients bruise very easily (hence it would be conjecture that a bruise might have been the result of violence); also doctors may be reluctant to report a certain condition as abuse simply because they would (by law) then have to report it. Reporting a possible incident of abuse against an older patient would mean the doctor would have to testify in court, and might be
If one takes into account that the number of elderly in nursing homes in the country is on the increase, then the need for an adequate awareness of and research into the problem becomes evident. One of the central questions that need to be addressed is why this form of abuse occurs with such general frequency. While there will always be those few individuals who should not be in responsible
The speaker, however, quoted statistitics that demonstrated the vast majority of reported cases taking place in homes. The vast number of unreported cases also keeps the ignorance about this problem alive and well. Connected to these problems are other contributing factors such as the increased vulnerability of the elderly, their greater dependence, their susceptibility to dementia, a lack of basic awareness of the abuse, and the tendency to disbelieve reports
A lack of good relationships with staff can also result in a high risk factor for abuse from caregivers at these facilities. According to Woolf (1998), other factors that can contribute to the abuse of elderly persons, either in care facilities or in the home environment include external stress and intra-individual dynamics or personal problems. In terms of the former, a family members financial problems, job stress, or other issues