Child Abuse and Neglect in Toddlers

Child Abuse and Neglect in Toddlers

Child abuse and neglect have been evidenced to impact the health of adults in the long run negatively. Any act of failure to act by a person responsible for the caregiving of a person less than 18 years of age and yields consequences of physical, emotional, or psychological harm, sexual exploitation, and, at times, death is referred to as child abuse and neglect (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2018). The survivors of child abuse have varying physical and mental health issues that need to be addressed, and this poses a health concern that affects the entire population, hence becoming a public health issue. This paper aims to elucidate the signs that a victim of the problem above may present and how these signs relate to a toddler.

Various developmental stages of a human being are associated with certain behaviors and observable features that are perceived to be found on normal occasions. However, extreme or abnormal features may be used as evidence of child abuse and neglect. For instance, toddlerhood is the developmental stage where individuals are curious and may sustain minor injuries from accidents caused by their explorative nature. At this stage, the toddler is learning how to walk and may fall in the process of learning. However, unexplained injuries and bruising, which are frequent and patterned, especially on the protected areas like the thighs, are indicative of abuse. The second of mistreatment in a toddler is extreme fear and withdrawal. At the toddler stage, the children develop safe attachments to the people they develop trust in. Extreme fear for adults portrayed by the child through crying, freezing, and running away may indicate the presence of an abuser who caused trauma to the toddler. The third sign of abuse in a toddler is the delayed developmental milestones, and even at times, regression of the milestone may be experienced. As supported by Zeanah & Humphreys (2018), at the toddler stage, the toddler is at the peak of linguistic, motor, and social skills learning; however, trauma and stress stemming from the abuse may alter the process of learning and yield noticeable delays in development.

References

Child Welfare Information Gateway. (2018). What Is Child Welfare? A Guide for Health-Care Professionals [Fact sheet]. https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/can/related/

Zeanah, C. H., & Humphreys, K. L. (2018). Child Abuse and Neglect. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(9), 637–644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2018.06.007

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When you become a licensed nurse, you will also become a mandated reporter. A mandated reporter is required by law to notify authorities of child abuse or suspected child abuse. This could include physical abuse, sexual abuse, or emotional abuse. Once a report is made, an investigation will be completed (Linnard-Palmer & Coats, 2017). Child welfare professionals will complete the investigation (Child Welfare Information Gateway, 2018).

Child Abuse and Neglect in Toddlers

As an LPN, you will need to be aware of where you can find resources to help understand child abuse and neglect, think about how you can assist child welfare professionals, and help further prevention efforts. One example of a resource is the American Academy of Pediatrics. The organization has a wealth of information regarding child abuse and neglect and many links to other resources.

Please take time to go to the American Academy of Pediatric Child Abuse and Neglect webpage and review the resources that are available on the website. Click here.

Another resource with quality information is the Child Welfare Information Gateway

Initial Post

In your initial post, find a resource from the websites that relates to abuse at a specific developmental stage (infant, toddler, preschooler, school aged, and adolescent) and discuss:

Three signs the child may display when experiencing the abuse
Relate the signs you chose to the developmental stage you selected
Please cite your sources in your post
Reply Post

Respond to at least two of your peers.

As an LPN, what are two or more strategies you can use to identify or prevent child abuse or neglect and assist professionals who handle child welfare reports? Be sure the strategies selected are specific to the developmental stage from the initial post.