Why Neglect Would Be Worse than Abuse on a Child's Development - Research Paper Example

One reason for this stems from the fact that in a majority of cases, child neglect is unintentional. The persons involved in child neglect have often little idea how they are impinging the child’s rights and consequently fail to measure up for their deficient behavior.

In other circumstances, child neglect often goes unnoticed as a regular routine occurrence for the child, the parents, and the people existing nearby. In stark contrast, child abuse is not only widely reported and publicized but parents and other adults generally keep a watchful eye out for any erratic behavior. In this respect, child abuse assumes a passive and rather unnoticed form that is far more dangerous than child abuse. Child abuse is generally apprehended at some stage and corrected while child neglect can often continue unabated till tragic consequences arise.

As an example, consider the case of child care. Most parents deposit their children to child care as a means of simplifying their lives and in an effort to “provide the child with professional care”. Most parents are accustomed to dropping their toddlers and infants off at daycare every single day. For most, it is a routine activity like washing your face in the morning which could have no consequences. However, the truth is far more different. Most parents neglect their children in the face of other priorities and stress which could be work-related as well as related to personal lives. The emerging condition is known as “forgotten baby syndrome” and parents often forget their children in places that prove fatal at times. The acts are not intended yet the results are far from acceptable. There are around 15 to 25 cases in the United States each year where parents forget to drop their children off at daycare whilst they are strapped to the baby seat in the back. Often parents are neglectful enough to return a few hours later to find children dead as a result of “hyperthermia”.

While “hyperthermia” and its neglect may seem rather esoteric to some, the cases of child neglect that caused massacres such as Columbine are more apparent. Despite visible signs of agitation from Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, no action was initiated by the parents, the teachers, or by the employers. Child neglect caused the death of 15 children (including the perpetrators) and the injury of 24 children.

Consequently, it could be safely assumed that child neglect is often worse than child abuse for a child’s development.