Types of Maltreatment
Child protection is very important and must take priority whenever a child or young person is involved in anything. Even though there might be signs that a child is being abused, children actually do get bruised or little injuries when they go out and play. It is quite important that professionals listen to the children and observe them to see what their normal behaviour and body language is like. This is so if there are any changes they will be detectable and the child can be observed and assessed if needed.
Physical Abuse
Physical abuse can happen in moments of stress by an adult. Many individuals that tend to commit physical abuse were actually abused themselves when they were children. With this happening, they don’t realize that abuse is a bad thing to do even when the child has misbehaved. Adults that can also commit physical abuse can be those who are suffering from: Alcoholism, Domestic violence themselves, Drug abuse, Being a single parent and not being able to cope, Lack of education and finally Poverty.
There are many different sighs of physical abuse and these are: Bruising, burns, unexplained injuries, soreness, infections, being underweight, poor personal hygiene and finally failure to thrive. Bruising could happen to children that are regularly punched, beaten or hit and will gain a number of bruises from this. The child or young person could also gain even more serious injuries from this happening like fractures, tissue or organ damage, which in time could cause death. A child or young person could also gain small round burns on their skin that could possibly be made by a lit cigarette. No matter what the burn is, it can be really painful and maybe get infected. Hands or feet of the child or young person could be placed in some kind of hot liquid as a punishment by the parent, as a result, the child or young person would need medical attention. Although the child is being abused, the parent or carer might not even bother getting medical attention for the child. Non-accidental injuries could be because of stresses and strains that are happening in the family. Some children are usually abused and ill-treated. Another example of physical abuse could be soreness as it is a sign that the child or young person might be bruised or maybe have a fracture. If the soreness is quite often happening then, investigations would have to be made to see why the child is so tender. Infections could also be a sign of abuse for example, if a child is always ill or has regular infections and may not receive the care that they so desperately need to help build up the nutrients to fight the infection that they have.
The child might also be underweight. Professionals might realise this as, children are weighed regularly as they grow up. Once a child is born, they are usually weighed with every medical check that they have through childhood. This is just to see how their health is doing. If the child is quite underweight, then investigations will be taken to see if the child or young person has an illness that is making this happen to them. If no cause is found, then the right route of investigations will have to be made to see why the child or young person is not of the right weight to see if they are being cared for properly. The child could also have poor personal hygiene for example, the child could be wearing ripped, shaggy clothing that are too small, the child could start to smell as they have not been bathed etc. and finally, failure to thrive, this could be where the child is not acting their normal selves for quite a long time and this would have to be investigated. http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/child-abuse-physical/overview.html#Symptoms Emotional Abuse
A parent’s behaviour is important for a child’s development. If a parent is negative to their child then they may have a bad relationship between a child and parent. A child can maybe start to act different if their