The Parental Community Needs to Realize Verbal Abuse HURTS

Children are and have always been important to me, think about it; children are our future. Why would we not rank them of high importance? Children are loving, honest and kind, born into this world with such a curiosity about the world around them and the ability to have no filter on their mouths.  I admit the truthful nature of children can certainly take you back, make your jaw drop and sometimes make you giggle, with that being said, children are a true blessing. They come in all shapes and sizes with brain power in that little baby head beyond our understanding.

What happens when you insert the children of this world into the real world and they start to hear other people’s views? These children who are sweet and innocent by birth end up being influenced by their environment, heck even kids who haven’t yet walked outside of their family unit on their own yet have a lot of environmental factors inside of their own home that change the way they handle other people and view their own self.

I am a firm believer in genetics playing a key role in who we are, but I am also a firm believer that no matter what genetics have instilled within our own self, that we can truly become whom ever we wish to be.  During the tween and teen years it’s extremely difficult for a child to do more than just follow their peers. Peer pressure plays a key role during this time of a child’s life and it’s up to the adults in this child’s life to have already formed a special bond with their child to ensure that peers are not able to fully affect this child in a negative way.

One thing that happens all too often and is overlooked more than I care to get into is verbal & emotional abuse. Having been a victim of said crime, I can tell you from experience that verbal & emotional abuse will hurt you far longer than the bruise placed on you from physical abuse. Yes, physical abuse leaves major scars, both inside & outside, which is probably why physical abuse is reported & addressed more often than emotional & verbal abuse.

What can we do to stop children from being emotionally & verbally abused by their loved ones? I don’t wish to have the government raise our children, we don’t need “laws” from government to tell us how to parent, what we do need is to remember that it takes a village to raise a child and whether you are related to this child & fear that speaking up will cause damage to the relationship you have with the abuser or you have learned what society says is acceptable “to mind your own parental business”, you need to speak up. You need to follow your gut instinct, listen to the child who is telling you about this verbal & emotional abuse and by all means do not let emotional & verbal abusers get off the hook so easy.

Someone who is abusing a child emotionally & verbally clearly has their own deep dark scars and demons that they have to address. We can not force a verbally & emotionally abusive person to change, but what we can do is save that child from the pain & suffering that will forever hold them back from being able to grow into a well rounded, happy adult. We, as a community, need to spread knowledge, speak up about verbal and emotional abuse. Get the word out that we, as a community, will no longer sit back and allow agencies to toss emotional & verbal abuse out the back window but rather face it, solve it and save a child from having to face their own demons & scars forced upon them by their abuser later in life in order to have a fully well balanced life.

Speak up, Speak out against abuse of children both physically & emotionally. We, the people, have the power to help our future adults enjoy their childhood fully.

Featured Image Source: Flickr