Medical and Educational Neglect
“sidewalk chalk” by lucidtech is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Child neglect can be defined as the intentional or unintentional inability of a caregiver or a parent to provide the fundamental necessities to a child. These fundamental needs can vastly impact a child’s personality and include more than just food, shelter, or having a safe and abuse-free place to live. It also includes taking care of a child’s proper medical needs and making sure they are well educated.
Why is it essential to identify child neglect
Childhood plays a vital role in shaping how a person feels, thinks, and behaves later in life. Experiencing neglect in childhood can have devastating impacts on a child’s life, even when they have left the neglect years behind. Being a victim of negligence, a child may experience cognitive and intellectual consequences where they may show impairment in verbal intelligence or learning, psychosocial consequences where they may experience problems in attachment or forming relationships, behavioral outcomes such as antisocial behavior, and more susceptibility to developing illnesses in later years in life.
Therefore, it is crucial to identify and resolve the signs of neglect in children to understand and eliminate them.
What is medical neglect, and what are its signs
Medical neglect includes the inability of a parent to provide the necessary medical or dental care to a child. It could also include not getting your child professional help if they show symptoms of early mental illnesses.
A child experiencing medical neglect may show the following symptoms:
- The child’s injuries are left untreated.
- They have recurring dental problems.
- They suffer from repeated illnesses.
- The child is not treated according to the advice of a doctor, or the parents show little to no concern and even refuse to take the child to routine appointments. It could also include not getting the child vaccinations.
What is educational neglect
This form of neglect includes not allowing your child access to education. It is essential to know that restricting your child’s education is against the law. Parents can only take children out of school if they have some alternative educational modes in mind.
A child experiencing educational neglect may show the following symptoms:
- Keeping a child from obtaining special education needs if they experience any disabilities.
- The child is allowed to miss too much school.
- The child often has incomplete homework, or parents don’t pay attention to the academic performance.
- The child lacks basic etiquettes or literacy skills in comparison to their peers.
How to help a child experiencing medical or educational neglect
If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected or if a child confides in you, your intervention could play a vital role in making sure the child starts getting proper attention. If you are the child’s parent, getting appropriate parenting courses can help you maintain better care of your child. Here are some things that you can do to help the child in need.
- Provide the child calm reassurance and unconditional support.
- Do not start to interrogate the child. Let them explain in their own words, so they don’t get confused.
- Do not deny if a child tells you that they are experiencing some problems. This may lead the child to become more secretive about their problems, making it harder for the child.
“The dark side of Cambodia” by Stig Berge is marked with CC0 1.0
- If you experience any signs in a child, try contacting their parents first and bring out the issue. In some cases, the parents may not be aware that they are neglectful towards a child.
- If you suspect that your or the child’s safety would be threatened, always remember that safety comes first. Contact the professionals and leave it to them. This way, you might be able to provide more support to the child.
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