The Issue of Child Abuse in America - Essay Example

Child Abuse in America In every nation, the rights of children in the family they live in is a matter of concern for the stability of families. Worldwide, statistics indicates that the problem of child abuse has heightened raising awareness that there is a need to reform the child rights protection programs. In America, this is a problem that has thrived since the early 1980s and the problems have persistently recurred over the years. Various authors such as the Jeannette Walls have asserted on the need for affirmative action against family abuse in America to ensure that children live in conducive family environments. In her book, she depicts the kind of torture that children suffer from neglecting parents and the difficulties that they have to overcome before they attain the adult age. This situation depicts the kind of family dynamics that children today are experiencing in America. The American government should reform its child protection programs to stop child suffering within the family structure. Most American Parents have neglected their parental responsibilities as they pursue their personal goals without minding the child welfare. In the Glass Castle, Walls (13) states that Brian had suffered from injury but his parents decided not to take him to the hospital just because there was another kid in the hospital. They said that “one child at a time in the hospital was enough…”, which depicts their ignorance and unwillingness to take care of the medical needs of their children. From such a careless statement, it is possible to point out that the parents neglected their parental responsibilities to ensure that children are healthy which is in accordance with children right of good health. Also, Brian’s mother, Wall, finds it worthy to engage in painting rather than cook for the children. Consequently, children have to cook for themselves, without having to worry about the risk of fire that is associated with this task. In America today, most parents have placed more weight on the job and often leave children with the responsibility of fending for themselves. This abuse of children's rights is a manifestation of negative family dynamics that can only be corrected through a proper corrective reform in the children’s rights acts. In modern America, Children have to undergo tough conditions while conforming to the harsh environments that most parents subjected them to. Walls (17-20) notes the kind of life that her family lived due to the conditions of the environment that they lived. Rex, the family head, lives in a desert and keeps moving to ensure that he escapes his debtors. He moves the children in the middle of the night when he cannot be found by his collectors and the children hardly have a peaceful night. They have to sleep in the middle of the desert and acclimatize to the cold and the heat fluctuations of the environment. Shifting is a routine they have to keep up with to avoid any kind of misfortune that may befall their greatly indebted father. This makes it tough to live a comfortable life. In America, parents are always moving to new environments in search for better job subjecting their children to harsh living conditions. For instance, when families move, the children have to shift their from their schools every time making their academic life unstable and often unfriendly. In this regard, there is the need to protect children academic life by instituting stricter measures on parental care to safeguard children welfare. Parents who abuse drugs subject their children to physical as well as mental torture that often has a permanent effect on the children. In the glass Castle, Rex drinks a lot and does not mind the welfare of his children at all. When he takes the children to the forest, he uses a commanding tone that scares them and subjects them to mental torture. When he doesn’t win in his gambling game, the children have to go hungry while he spares nothing for them to sustain his drinking habit. Radford (Para 5) regards US increased drinking habits as one of the reasons why children abuse statistics continue to increase making US the worst in Child abuse. Children who are raised by alcoholic parents suffer from mental, physical as well as sexual torture as they live within a hostile family environment. The only way to protect children from this kind of environment is by developing strict policies to protect children against abuse from their drug addicted parents that often pose danger to their future wellbeing. There have been numerous efforts in America to curb the problem of child abuse that has become a core topic of discussion in the recent past. For instance, the National Child Abuse Prevention Forum has provided many strategies to protect the children against unhealthy family environments and hence developing stringent measures to protect children. However, in 2011, statistics indicate that over 0.6 million children in America suffered from Child Abuse, a figure that has put the child protection programs under acute criticism (National Child Traumatic Stress Network Para 1). This is a clear indication that the current children right protection measures have failed to protect children in the America. As more cases of sexual abuse, assault, bullying and hunger among children generate heat among the media discussions, there is the need to provide better protection for children and ensure that their rights are respected within the families they belong. In conclusion, Child abuse in America is a matter of concern that can only be confronted through strict policies governing the rights of children within families. As more families become more engaged in business and work, they have completely withdrawn from their parental responsibilities and neglected their duty of care for children. Children have to fend for themselves and engage in risky activities that pose danger to their lives. Parents have little concern for the education of their children posing them to the danger of rejection within the employment that now demands learned children. An increase in drinking habits among American citizens translates to more alcoholic parents and higher rates of child abuse within families. Higher rates of child rape, stress, beating and neglection have permanent impact on America’s future generation. Unfortunately, the current protection programs have failed to safeguard the child welfare as statistics indicate that this problem has escalated in the recent past. In this regard, a reform would be crucial to change the child protection programs and ensure that the society has future that it can depend on. Works Cited National Child Traumatic Stress Network. National Child Abuse Prevention Month. 2013. Web. Accessed from: < http://www.nctsn.org/resources/public-awareness/national-child-abuse-prevention-month >[Accessed on 17th Dec, 2013] Radford, Benjamin. US Worst in Child Abuse. Discovery News. 2011. Accessed from: < http://news.discovery.com/human/psychology/us-worst-child-abuse-111023.htm > [Accessed on 17th Dec, 2013] Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle; A Memoir. Simon and Schuster, 2006. Print. Read More