Maltreatment of Children

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the conception of what constitutes maltreatment of children. Specifically, this paper establishes the view that the whole concept of what constitutes a designation of being a "child" has changed over time, like many other societal definitions. According to the author, the designation of a child as a vulnerable member of society that requires special protection by parents and others is in fact a relatively new concept, and this is especially true of the social designation of adolescence. This paper takes a look at child maltreatment as a concept that has evolved over time, especially with regards to the definitions in a legal sense and the afforded interventions that are offered to society as a whole when these new definitions are breeched. Furthermore, this paper asserts that just like any other recently designated social problem, the phenomena of child maltreatment, though it has existed for all of human history, has taken a significant amount of time to be defined in the manner it is today.

From the Paper:

"Sadly, due to the nature of the limited communication skills of children and the desire of many abusers to deny events occurrences social workers are often engaged in resolving behavioral and social problems that occur as a result months or even years of maltreatment or single events that are so traumatic for the child that they relive them continually in thought and seek alternative behaviors to alleviate or even signal the need for intervention. Childhood trauma is a perceptual situation, and all trauma either intentional or unintentional, say as a result of witnessing unrelated acts of violence can effect all children in a different way, from not much at all to fundamentally and long lasting posttraumatic stress which can involve nightmares, behavioral problems, educational problems or even serious social concerns."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Child Abuse. (2007). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
• Frankel, N. & Dye, N. S. (Eds.). (1991). Gender, Class, Race, and Reform in the Progressive Era. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky.
• Gager, C. T., Mclanahan, S. S., & Glei, D. A. (2002). 3 Preparing for Parenthood: Who's Ready, Who's Not?. In Child Rearing in America: Challenges Facing Parents with Young Children, Halfon, N., McLearn, K. T., & Schuster, M. A. (Eds.) (pp. 50-77). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
• Kellman, S. G. (2005, March). Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood. USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), 133, 81.
• Orrick, D. (2005, March 8). Experts Don't Favor Spanking. Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL), p. 9.

More papers on Maltreatment of Children:

• Cause and Effect Essay # 117413 : "Physical Abuse of Children"
• Essay # 49529 : "Psychological Abuse of Children"
• Cause and Effect Essay # 105596 : "Effects of Child Maltreatment on Family Functioning"

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