Child Of Rage Documentary Analysis

In the Child of Rage Documentary I was able to observe Beth Thomas, a little girl whose mother had passed away when Beth was 1; left with her biological father who abused and molested her. Thankfully Beth and her brother John were adopted and taken out of that toxic and abusive relationship. However, Beth developed a rage and desire to hurt others like her father hurt her.

I found it offensive that no one had told the adoptive parents that they children came from an abusive home. They were simply told that they were adopting two healthy children. Not every family is equipped to deal with the issues that result from abuse and by not warning them beforehand is how many children get sent back into the system and that results in even more psychological issues for some because it makes the feeling of being unwanted much greater. Thankfully Beth and John’s adoptive parents were willing to help her but that is not always the case.

She hurt John so often that her adoptive parents started having to lock her in her room at night by tieing a rope to the door knob. This made me wonder exactly how long Beth was doing this before her adoptive parents decided it was time for her to get help and also what long term effects did this abuse have on poor little John. There is a fine line between sibling rough play and abusive behavior.

The therapeutic setting that Beth was in while she was in recovery was an environment of encouragement and that build her self-esteem. I love the environment that she was in but feel this could have been done at home. The parents could have easily been taught how to implement these techniques in the home especially if she was to return anyway. Also, they did not seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary encouragement that should always be given to a child. This made me question what the adoptive parent’s parenting techniques