Feral Children Research Paper

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Feral Children: Examples of Extreme Neglect
A feral child is a deviant child that has a lack of socialization skills because they have been isolated from human contact. Feral children lack the basic social, emotional, and physical skills that are normally learned in the process of childhood from their parents. Feral children suffer with disabilities because of their isolation, which most times can never be reversed; such as being physically malnourished, emotionally unstable, and unable to communicate. Depending on the beginning age of the neglect, the time spent in isolation and the age of rescue these effects can be manageable but they are usually never undone.
Two examples of feral children provided by the book are Anna and Genie. Anna was …show more content…

Feral children will always second guess what they see and live in fear and paranoia. The book describes it best this way:
Children whose needs are met in settings characterized by affection, warmth, and closeness see the world as a safe and comfortable place and see other people as trustworthy and helpful. By contrast, infants and children who receive less- than- adequate care or who are emotionally rejected or abused often view the world as hostile and have feelings of suspicion and fear. (pg. 93- 94)
All children need interaction to be able to identify their role in society and to gain the ability to have a relationship with others. When there is no one there to instill security into a child they will always feel unsecure. If no one teaches a child how to trust and is always hurting them, they will feel as if everyone is dangerous. It is up to the care giver to give children the tools they need in order to survive in the world and when they are not given these tools, even when rescued, many feral children do not live long because of the social expectations given to them that they know nothing

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