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Child abuse cause and effect
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He was once loved by her, but after four years, he became no one to her. He was no longer a son that she loves. He became loved. He was now a slave, filth, nothing. He was “It”. Dave was “It” to her, and nothing more. In Dave Pelzer's award winning autobiography, “The Child Called It”, he recounts the horrors of his childhood where he was abused by his alcoholic mother from the ages of four through twelve. His mother did unspeakable and heinous things to him. She slapped him, she starved him, she beat him, and she even stabbed him. Pelzer’s father, nor his brothers, did not try to intervene and stop Catherine from abusing Dave. Dave lost his identity while he was being abused. It was as if he was a robot going through the chores his mother gave him. He tried to persist in pleasing her to keep her from getting angry, but nothing that Dave did could please her or make her happy. He tried hard everyday to keep his hope that he would be rescued, alive, yet no one could help him, and no one was there to help him. His own family, his own blood, wouldn’t help him. He tried to get help, but every time, he was caught and severely punished. The fear he felt around her was palpable and overpowering, and it is this fear that kept him from trying to run again. Dave Pelzer’s child abuse case, is one of the most brutal recorded cases concerning child abuse in America. At such a young age, Pelzer experienced three out of the four types of abuse: neglect, physical abuse and mental or emotional abuse. As we recount this story, we may be wondering to ourselves, “What causes someone to become a child abuser?” It is not known as of today, and might not ever be known because child abuse happens to people across the board, and there is no clear p... ... middle of paper ... ... Hotline at 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453). There are other ways to help abused children. We can volunteer at the San Francisco Child Abuse Advocacy Center. There are disparate opportunities such as becoming a volunteer that works in the Children’s Playroom where one plays with abused children. Moreover, one can also become part of the SFCAAC’s TALK Hotline where one speaks to callers and helps them with any questions or gives callers advice. These are only two examples of what we can all do to help abused children. So start today. Start to change the world by doing the most you can to help an abused child. Helping can be as simple as sending a child a letter and letting them know that they are not alone, that there are people that are willing to help them when they feel that there is no one there, that even if times seem tough at the moment, time heals wounds. 1
School was Dave's only refuge away from his mother, and it was the only place he could actually get food and feel safe. Sometimes he would wish to stay at school forever just so he wouldn’t have to stay home with his mother. He dreaded holidays so much. His school was also a place where he felt loved by the nurse and put an end to his abuse.
At first, David cares that his mother treats him badly. After awhile, he doesn’t care and becomes apathetic.
1. In the book, the father tries to help the son in the beginning but then throughout the book he stops trying to help and listens to the mother. If I had been in this same situation, I would have helped get the child away from his mother because nobody should have to live like that. The father was tired of having to watch his son get abused so eventually he just left and didn’t do anything. David thought that his father would help him but he did not.
A Child Called It depicts David Pelzer’s life and his incredible will of survival from an “It” to a man. David was emotionally and physically abused up until the age of 12, by his mother (Catherine) who was not only an alcoholic but a master of defamation. The cruelty David endured at the hands of his mother led him to believe he was nothing more than a worthless misfortune; he began to despise himself even more and started to believe that he was the cause of the abuse he suffered.
According to Papalia and Feldman, an estimation of a tragic 905,000 cases were received by child protective services in response to about 3.3 million referrals regarding maltreatment within six million children in the year of 2006. One of the six million children include, David Pelzer. David, in his awe-inspiring novel, A Child Called It, takes the reader upon an unfortunate path as he reflects upon the deplorable life struggles he experienced from the cruel actions of his abusive alcoholic mother. Despite the never ending struggles throughout his daily life at such a young age, David learns to become resilient as time progresses. Keeping in mind that writing this autobiographical
To her Dave was now just a slave and an “it” she referred to him as “the boy”. Although sometimes Dave’s father would try to help him or defend him in arguments he would always give in to Dave’s mother.
Dave’s mother claims that she saw Dave playing on the grass which is forbidden. However, Dave never played on the grass at school. It didn’t matter whether he did or did not, because his mother already had a plan. She told him that she read an article that a mother had her son lie on top of a hot stove and she wanted to test it out. She gripped his arm and put it the flames burning his skin. The reward of playing on the grass was a burned arm. It Another incident happened the summer of 1971, by now Dave knew what to do and what not to do to receive his mother’s punishments. The punishments would vary from no food, a slap in the face if he looked at anyone without permission, and if caught stealing food he would be forced to vomit it and eat or something worse. One episode of abuse that stood out for me was the stabbing. The day for Dave was one of the worst punishments ever. As he sat on his hands on the bottom of stairs towards the basement waiting for ‘the family’ eat and wait until he was called to clear the table. This was a normal occurrence and also praying to receive anything to clinch his hunger. He
My brain locked up when I felt Mother’s hand clamp my arm as if it were in a vice grip. “You’ve made my life a living hell!” she sneered. “Now it’s time I showed you what hell is like!” Gripping my arm, Mother held it in the orange blue flame. My skin seemed to explode from the heat. I could smell the scorched hairs from my burnt arm. As hard as I fought, I could not force Mother to let go of my arm. Finally I fell to the floor, on my hands and knees, and tried to blow cool air on my arm. “It’s too bad your drunken father’s not here to save you,” she hissed. Mother then ordered me to climb up onto the stove and lie on the flames so she could watch me burn. I refused, crying and pleading. I felt so scared I stomped my feet in protest. But Mother continued to force me on top of the stove. I watched the flames, praying the gas might run out….” David may live a hard life, but he keeps hope that one day things will look bright once again. The only question is whether that will actually happen….As I read this book, all i could think is wow. A child called it, brought tears to my eyes, everytime I picked the book up. I never wanted to put it down or stop reading until i was finished. This book
But then, his mother changed. Slowly at first, but drastically. Her behavior became unusual and her drinking increased heavily. She became easily frustrated, and it seems that her biggest source of frustration was Dave, the loudest and wildest of her children. And thus, Dave's nightmare began. Pelzer is never clear on what caused this harsh change in behavior; most likely, he doesn't know and never will. Dave struggles to stay alive in a home where he treated basically like an animal and a slave. Catherine
Upon further examination, Dave appears to be less responsible for his shortcomings. His poverty is deep and his parents are awful and he has no future. In his environment there is practically no way he could grow up and develop self-respect and the respect of others. Dave is treated just like a mule, given no responsibility, not even the chance to hold on to part of his earnings. This is seen when Joe, the store owner ask “your ma letting you have your own money now?”(656).
The mistreatment of children is classified by four types of actions: physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect. Although, in recent years several steps have been taken to prevent the maltreatment of children it seems that child abuse is still prevalent in today's society. Countless children around the world suffer from some form of abuse and in many cases the same child experiences more than one. There is no exact number of victims because it difficult to measure the exact amount of children going through abuse. Child abuse almost always occurs in private, and because abuse is often hidden from view and its victims may be too young or too frightened to speak out, experts in child welfare suggest that its true prevalence
Mother is introduced to us from “The Rescue” and we continue to learn of her tortures throughout the book. Mother is a woman who is angry, specially towards Dave, specially when he is in need of punishment. Mother does not take care of her appearance anymore, she walks around in robes all day, watches tv, never bothers to put on make up, and often smells of alcohol. She is vindictive, cruel and abusive, always barking orders, assigning impossible chores and coming up with more sickening ways to break Dave. Mother attacks Dave’s self esteem by making him repeat and believe that he is a bad boy. Dave’s self esteem deteriorates even more as she treats him worse than one would a dog, yet acts towards his brothers with care and affection and even goes on to teach them to look down on Dave.
Father and Son by Bernard McLaverty 'Father and Son' by Bernard McLaverty is a short story which is set in
Child abuse is a rising problem that is tormenting children today. More than 903, 000 children are confirmed as victims of abuse or neglect each year in the U.S. (NCCCANI, 2003). Child abuse is known as any avoidable and non-accidental act that causes physical injury to a child and is inflicted by someone who is responsible for that child’s well-being. Child abuse and neglect is one of the fastest occurring social problem in our society
Every individual breathing in this world is generally assumed and anticipated to experience a childhood filled with joy, laughter, and smiles. However, pain, tears, and silence are the memoirs of some children due to child abuse. Child abuse is an issue that has become an epidemic, developing into children’s most unwelcomed nightmares that haunts them on a daily basis. Child victims of abuse can consider the cruel acts being done to them as their preeminent complication of their lives causing them to become unstable. These children tend to lose control over their own lives, bodies, and minds creating catastrophic obstacles to build up in their lives and causing themselves to become weakened and vulnerable due to being confronted by fear that they cannot endure. The many lives of abused children are misguided as they mature because the events that they encounter during their early childhood years influence the construction of their future and behaviors. Child abuse is the barbarous act of maltreatment directed towards children that includes physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual molestation which all serve as elements towards leading to the destruction of their lives.