Child Neglect - Where Is My Mummy?

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In wealthy families, the neglect and the pressure that was put on the children are equally growing. Though the parents maybe neglected the kids on the daily life, they usually expect high for their children as it could be one of the topic to be bragged about in public. Putting kids into the best teachers and tutors made these parents felt that they paid attention, however, not minding the part that kid didn’t get the love he needed from parents, he is now stressed, since the thought of “I get the best tutoring, so I must get 2300 on SAT, taking 5 more AP courses and get into Ivy League”. Well these might be among the good kids who wanted their parents to pay attention to them with the good grades and all sorts of prizes, hoping with these, the parents could give them the love they deserve as he made them proud. Not that much children in their teens are that motivated, most get their attention of their parents by being a regular guest of the juvenile detention center (Johnson, 2008). Researches showed that high alcohol usage, binge-drinking and marijuana use in children coming from well-educated, high-income families more than those who aren’t that privileged (Luthar, 2013). Not just the use of substance, other misbehaviors like cheating and stealing are common among the rich families than the poor (Luthar, 2013). These kids have the money for some expensive drugs and drinks, prices for faking IDs, “getting wasted and be bad” is trendy among these kids who needed their parents’ attention and caring. (Luthar, 2013)

All these situations are breaking people’s heart when they know it, being neglected by their loved one in various ways from physically to emotionally. As the public are caring more about children being neglected by their parents, the more are just just watching the news and feel pity for them, the government and local forces are taking measures to help these poor souls. First are some of the prevention strategies, there are common activates that includes public awareness campaigns, skills based curricula for both the parents and the kids, home visiting on families that has these issues and trying to improve the situation, supporting groups for parents talking about their experiences and ways to prevent neglect and Resources Centers for these families who need both financial and emotional helps from the public, along with some protective factors on reducing risk factors. (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2013)

In 1974, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was passed. In which, state grant program with lots of funds were assigned by congress to deal and help these families and children who were involved in neglects. (Commitee on Child Maltreatment Research, 2014). Governmental legislations on protecting kids from neglect has been imposed since National Research Council in 1993, however due to the complex of the issue itself which involves children who are minors and it is important to use the safety and risk assessment during the cases. There has been lots of discussion on the implementation of punishment. The biggest issue it the effectiveness of it, whether banning the behavior in legislation is able to reduce the rate of neglected kids? Are there enough resources to be allocated and public support for those parents who committed neglect and tried to be a better parent later?

In the Financial Year of 2006, 27,280,000 funding was raised and gave to 48 states and Puerto Rico through the Consolidated Grant process. (Children's Bureau, 2012) Other than that, there are facilities that are built for the parents to know how to be a better and caring existence for their children. Some may not deliberately to neglect their children, but being a parent could be intimating fact for some people who aren’t ready for it, these kinds of centers helps the parents to know what they are and will face, helping them to communicate more with their children and enhance family relationships.

There are severe situations which the parents needed to severe prison time or been taken away the right to be parent, then the children who were neglected would end up in the foster care and might get foster parents to take over their lives. Though it sounds like a good option for both of the parties, there are some warnings to talk to the foster parents before the adoption. Children who were neglected are mostly weak and traumatized, they had intrusive memories that are overwhelming which they had to struggle their way through (Jordan Institute for Familes, 2005). They may have nightmares, and hard to get close to because they were once abandoned by their loved ones and had the fear the feeling of heartbreaking will occur again. Foster parents should try to spot the reactions and know the right way to help the children when they encounter the situation. For those who are under the age of five, there might be fear of separating from parents, they might cry, scream tremble and show signs of earlier ages like bed-wetting and the fear of darkness. For kids from age 6 to 11, they might have disruptive behaviors, lack of concentration, it might make them suffer in school work and other emotional disorders like depression, anxiety. For those who are older, from 12 to 17, they might have the symptoms of depressed adults, isolation and suicidal. Some of the children who were neglected by their previous parents might have bad habits like drinking and drug using, some might think the reason of being neglected by previous parents was their own fault, it might be harder for them to recover than those who are younger since they’ve already have some recognition as teens. (Jordan Institute for Familes, 2005).

These are some of the problems foster parents might face with the adopted neglected kids, the parents need to pay more attentions and tried to help them overcome these traumas, try to talk to them about their old lives with their precious parents, knowing how the kids felt and tell them it will get better. Be nurturing and caring, talk about the expectation the parents have for the kids and show some of the disciplines (Jordan Institute for Familes, 2005). The most important is communication, they might not have lots of conversation and communication with those who neglected them, talk to the kids to allow him to know that you are hearing his request and respect his ideas. One last important facts, be normal, don’t treat these kids like they are special, treat them like treating a regular child from any household. It’s important to let the neglected children to feel belonged with the other friends of his age rather than different.

After all that’s been mentioned above, even with all the solutions that are provided by the government and the public, the fact that the children are being hurt and neglected by their parents are existing. Whether