Child Abuse |
|
|
|
|
||
|
Bonding with the mother is widely regarded as the best possible start in life for a new baby, but it is a sad fact that 5-10 per cent of mothers do not take naturally to the maternal process, with stressful consequences for both themselves and their children.
Battered babies and children subjected to various kinds of abuse are all too often the victims of parents who suffer from inability to adapt to their parental role because of stress problems experienced in their own childhoods - a vicious circle if ever there was one.
Abused children probably suffer from the most extreme forms of stress that an unhappy childhood has to offer, often compounded by feelings of unfounded guilt.
In recent years a great deal of publicity has highlighted the plight of such children, particularly those who have suffered from some form of sexual abuse by a parent or other family member.
Hopefully, this attention will in itself achieve reduction in the painful stress levels such treatment makes children endure, by creating a much greater awareness of their problems on the part of both the public and professional caring bodies. Details of some of the latter, such as Child line
|
||