Forms of Child Abuse

             

(In this picture I am the second child on the left).

          Most people with a mental illness have experienced some form of child abuse.  This abuse is not always physical.  Emotional child abuse can take on several forms. 

Degradation is where a parent constantly devalues the child's achievements and magnifies misbehavior.  The child then becomes convinced that she is bad or worthless.

Psychologically absent parents show little interest in the child's development and provide no affection of times of need.  This abuse is called unavailability.  This kind of child abuse has been on the rise for quite some time as we are seeing more cases of both parents pursuing careers that take up a lot of their time.

Domination is the use of extreme threats to control a child's behavior.  Some child development experts have compared this form of abuse to the techniques used by terrorists to brainwash captives.

I am lucky to have parents that love me and have treated me well throughout my life.  My father’s career involves him traveling often.  I remember missing him a lot when I was a child, especially on my birthdays.  I am very blessed, though, that when my father was around he paid a lot of attention to me and loved me very much.  I have experienced child abuse but it did not involve my parents or any relatives.