Chapter 4 - Child Abuse

Scholarly Journal Article:

The scholarly journal "The linkages among childhood maltreatment, adolescent mental health, and self-compassion in child welfare adolescents" helps understand how child maltreatment directly affects poor physical and mental health in adolescents. The article also discusses the affects of parents teaching children self-identity and how it can help an adolescent grow effectively. I chose this article because chapter 4 - child abuse, discusses emotional and psychological abuse. This article directly corresponds with Heavy Hands, by Gosselin. I always knew that physical child abuse caused mental health problems among adolescents, but this article broke it down for me (Paglia-Boak, 887-898)

 
Check out the article here 

I chose this video because it is a Child Abuse Awareness video. Everyone should be aware of child abuse, not just during April - Child Abuse Awareness Month,  and like the video says, "We all share a responsibility to keep children safe."

A Very Meaningful Poem

**For The Children**

For all the children who've lost their innocence...
Because of unthinkable cruelty and ignorance.

For all the little ones who cannot sleep...
Because of the horrible secrets they have to keep.

For all the ones who find it hard to eat...
When their angel face has been broken and beat.

For the tears that fall steadily when nobody sees...
And the child in the corner hugging her knees.

For the infants who are beaten before they can talk.
For the babies who know pain before they can walk.

For all the smiles that have been stolen away...
For all the children who are afraid to play.

For the adults who carry around their childhood bruises...
And the many abusers with their heartless excuses.

For anyone who acts out to suppress the grief.
For the ones who damage themselves to find relief.

For the ones who only want love and receive hate.
For the ones who suffer when the hour is late.

For every punch, bite, or burn...
And every time a child "has to learn..."

For the sparkle of hope in a child's bruised eye...
When he looks up at the sky and feels he can fly.

For every hour, for every lie...
For every heartfelt plead or cry...

For all the blind eyes that pass them by...
For every young heart that has to die...

I pray for the pain to be forever a forgotten nightmare.
I pray that every child can be safe, and without a care.
I hope you find courage through everything life brings you...
And I mourn those who've died before the world even knew.

There is no amount that can add up to what these lives are worth...
May God condemn the ones who injure his angels on Earth.

Written by Heather Cline.

Relevant Internet Site

http://www.childhelp.org/

This site was founded in 1959 by Sara O'Meara and Yvonne Fedderson, Childhelp® is a leading national non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect. They focus on prevention, intervention and treatment. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD®, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Guam. Childhelp's programs and services also include residential treatment services (villages); children's advocacy centers; therapeutic foster care; group homes; child abuse prevention, education and training.