Physical Neglect in Children
During the early years, every child relies on their parents and caregivers to provide them with basic life necessities. The quality of care a child receives can have a huge impact on their physical health, development, and overall wellbeing. In some cases, caregivers may intentionally or unintentionally put a blind eye to the physical resources a child needs to thrive properly. This can take the form of physical neglect.
What is physical neglect
Physical neglect involves situations where children are not given proper resources to live a healthy life. This includes adequate food, clothing, hygiene, shelter, or supervision. It also includes abandonment, refusal to seek medical care or failure to protect the child from abuse or other harmful circumstances.
For example, John is a 4-year old boy. He lives with his father, who only feeds him snacks like chips, ice creams, and cookies. He occasionally eats McDonald’s and mostly eats frozen foods. Although John does not go hungry, he is still deprived of balanced meals to grow and thrive properly.
In severe cases, children may be left on their own, abandoned by their parents, or may experience willful neglect.
What are the signs a child is physically neglected
- The child shows inappropriate clothing according to the weather.
- The child has poor hygiene, smells bad, and is regularly unwashed.
- Has ongoing health problems, feeling sick and often tired.
- The child is severely underweight or overweight.
What are the behavioral signs of physical neglect in a child
- The child hoards food and is often hungry.
- Frequent absences from school.
- Steals or begs for money or food.
- Shows infantile behavior in comparison to the other children of their age.
- Has delayed development and a hard time speaking or studying like other children of their age and may also anti-social tendencies.
- Shows extremes in behavior, aggression, and even apathy or depression.
What are the consequences of physical neglect on a child
This maltreatment can affect a child’s overall personality for their whole life. Even if they are removed from a bad situation, the consequences can last for a long time. These consequences can include:
- Nutritional deficiencies can impair brain development and cause learning difficulties for years to come.
- Lack of care can worsen ongoing health problems and can increase the likeliness of developing physical illnesses in the future.
- A lack of appropriate care can lead to intellectual problems causing bad performance in school, impaired language development, and antisocial behaviors.
- It can lead to emotional problems such as extreme anger and a hard time trusting others.
- Children that are neglected are more prone to behavioral disorders and are more likely to develop depression and other mental illnesses that can affect them for the entirety of their lives.
- Anti-social tendencies are more common in children that are physically neglected in childhood.
- Such children may also develop abandonment anxiety where they are extremely afraid that people will leave them in the future.
- Neglect can cause self-esteem issues that can lead to self-sabotaging behaviors, substance abuse, and even suicidal tendencies.
“sad – triste” by zaxl4 is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
What to do if you suspect a child is physically neglected
If you are in direct contact with the child, you could start by asking them about their conditions and properly taking care of them by their parents.
If you are concerned about a child, but there is nothing specific to report, try to stay in touch with their family and discuss it with them.
If you suspect that a child is in a dangerous and harmful condition, you can call the National child abuse hotline to report your experience regarding a child.
If you suspect that a child is being maltreated, your intervention to get them help could save and improve their life for years to come.
“children 2” by F. Montino is licensed under CC BY 2.0
