“In 1998, 19% of all investigations involved emotional maltreatment as the primary reason for the investigation. Emotional maltreatment was confirmed in more than half (54%) of these cases, a rate of 2.20 cases per 1,000 children,” says an August 2001 Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics publication entitled “Family Violence in Canada: A Statistical Profile.”
Like more violent forms of abuse, emotional abuse can impair your child's self-image and self-esteem and interfere with his ability to function well in society. Constant criticizing, belittling, name-calling, insulting, rejecting and teasing are some of the forms these verbal attacks can take.
Parents and Emotional Abuse
According to the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse, emotional abuse also includes failure to provide the emotional nurturing necessary for a child's psychological growth and development and not providing love, support or guidance.
"As with other types of abuse, emotional abuse is often inflicted by parents who themselves were raised in an environment where they experienced emotional abuse in relationships with their own mothers and fathers," says the American Academy of Pediatrics.
"Being made aware of the emotional and verbal abuse is an important first step for parents in bringing their destructive behavior to a halt and creating change. Parents must understand that the way they are treating their child has a direct impact on their child's behavior. Often they are not conscious that their actions are damaging at all. Perhaps if parents were made more aware of their child's pain, they would do anything to stop it."
Not all Emotional Abuse is Physical
Parents and guardians need to be encouraged to develop strong attachments with their children and learn to express warmth and positive regard for them. Families need to be encouraged to form relationships and find support systems.
Remember, not all emotional child abuse is physical. Mental/verbal abuse is one of the most damaging forms of abuse. Being disrespectful and unjustly critical towards a child can have serious emotional consequences and long-term repercussions.
If a child develops a belief that people are hostile, a life of suspicion, low self-esteem, self-denigration, and violence and rage are likely to result. Children may also suffer a reduction in cognitive development and impediments to academic achievement. When parents allow their own parenting stress to influence how they react to or treat their child(ren), they’ll only end up teaching them negative and destructive behaviors.
All forms of child maltreatment can have significant and lifelong adverse effects on the child’s mental health and development. The effects of abuse may appear right away, or surface only in adolescence or adulthood.
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