What are the causes of child abuse?
The following are the various causes of child abuse:
1. Disobedience
The moral value of obeying parents, teachers and elders is taught to the child but it is not necessary that whatever is taught the child will follow. If the child disobeys his parents and elders then the parents may scold him or may beat him severely, if his disobedience has made them to lose their honour in front of others. At school his disobedience towards teachers may lead to severe corporal punishment.
2. Quarrels
The quarrels between the parents and children may lead to abuse. The child may develop negativity about his parents and he may dislike his parents. If the parents feel that the child has crossed his limits then they will beat the child and harm him physically and mentally.
3. Dislike of Studies
If the child is not interested in studies at all then it is hard to develop interest of studies in him. The child will bunk the class and may be regularly absent from the school. The dislike of studies will earn him poor grades and the parents may beat him black and blue over this and will live permanent scars on his mind. This will do nothing but will harden his dislike towards studies. Most of the times it happens that the parents ask the child to leave their home. The child really leaves the home and then other problems like prostitution, beggary, addictions are generated.
4. Bad Habits
The bad habits of child like telling lies, bullying, stealing will lead to his abuse by his parents, elders and teachers. Naturally the parents will scold the child for his bad habits but sometimes the scolding crosses its limits and leads to physical and mental abuse of the child.
5. Complaints
The regular complaints from school teachers will be insulting to the parents. The parents in turn may beat up the child for this.
6. Loss of Items
Many children have the habit to loose various items like pen, pencils, rubbers, sharpners, money, umbrella, school books, water bottle etc. But if the parents decide to teah the child a lesson so that he will not loose the things in future then the child is beaten and harmed by the parents.
7. Poverty
The financially poor parents make their children to work. If the child refuses to work then he is tortured and abused till he says ‘yes’ to work.
8. Frustrated Parents
The parents who are not doing well financially or who are regularly ill-treated by their boss or who do not have good social relations with their colleagues are frustrated. They try to remove their frustrating by misbehaving with their spouse and children. The children are innocent victims of their torture and abuse.
9. Neglected Parents
The parents who were neglected in their childhood will try to remove their guilt over their children. Such parents may go to the extent of physical and mental abuse of their child.
10. Addicted Parents
The parents who are chain smokers, alcoholic, drug addicts may harm the child when they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Such parents do not abuse the child intentionally but their intoxication leads to physical and mental abuse of the child.
11. New Parents
New Parents means step father or step mother of the child who are totally new for the child. The child will have problems of adjustment with such parents and the child may not obey them or may curse them or misbehave with them. Then these new parents with their new colors start abusing the child physically and mentally. In very rare of the rarest case, we find that the new parents are able to create trust in the child.
12. Working Parents
Generally the child abuse of working parents is more than that of the non-working parents. If both the parents are working then they have to keep the child in day care or in the custody of elders or relatives. Such children are then exploited sexually by the care takers.
13. Social Isolation
The parents who live in social isolation commit child abuse. Those parents who do not go outside to meet people or to attend any function or social parties are frustrated. They remove their frustration on the child.
14. Social Practices
The social practices like child marriage, devadasi system, preference to the boy child leads to child abuse. These practices leads to physical and emotional abuse of the child.