Yes, I know it's only the beginning of March and it's not time yet, but I wanted to open up some dialogue about how some people throw around the word "child abuse". The internet is a particularly bad place for the misuse of the label "child abuse" but I've seen it happen in real life as well. People say overfeeding your kid so they're overweight is child abuse. They say taking your kid to a fast food restaurant- even only every once in awhile- is child abuse. People say smoking around kids is child abuse. People say not buying your kid the latest iPod Touch is child abuse…no, wait, that's my own teenager. His view on what's child abuse doesn't count, haha.
But really, I think most of the above examples are not good parenting, but do they equate to child abuse? I hardly think so. I think using the term "child abuse" to describe bad parenting takes away the effectiveness of the term. And it's not like "bad parenting" is so many more keystrokes than "child abuse" that it's just a shorter way to put things. No, it's the typical overreaction that people like to use. This kind of hyperbole is dangerous, however. If we start terming every instance of bad parenting "child abuse" then when real child abuse happens, it doesn't seem as bad.
What do you think? Is the term "child abuse" overused?
Add to:
the truest definition of child abuse is what seems to be escaping the general public leading to confusion as to what constitutes true child abuse. wikipedia defines child abuse as "the physical, psychological or sexual maltreatment of children." i realize that this definition leaves some latitude on what true child abuse is. but, abuse requires a maltreatment. therefore, like you've stated, overeating or other instances in which child abuse is coined may not be actual abuse. as a victim of child abuse for my entire life, i would have rather been overfed then beaten without mercy on a daily basis. that is the truest definition of child abuse. thank you for your question.
todd
http://www.eloquentbooks.com/ChildAbuseandItsLifetimeofDemons.html
Posted by: Todd Seyler | March 4th, 2009 9:52 am |
NO, the term is not overused..by a long stretch. Actually, it has been “kept in the closet” longer than sexuality preferences. Today, it is still a dark family secret that few acknowledge. Our country’s sad statistics show that 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys have been “sexually abused” by their 18th Birthday. There is no “overuse” of that fact; it’s true. So, my thought is the more folks that use the words in the same sentence, the more aware Society becomes. Sue Brown (author)
Posted by: sue brown | March 17th, 2009 2:09 pm |
Sue: The problem, I think, is when people use the term “abuse” to describe things that are not, in fact, abuse.
Posted by: badbadivy | March 17th, 2009 3:01 pm |