Child Neglect Group member: Lei Zhao; Jing Zhou; Shiping Kang; Meiyi Qi; Ping Zhao; Ruiqin Hu

What is Child Neglect?  “Child neglect is defined as when a caregiver fails to provide those basic human needs that are necessary for a child/youth to grow into a healthy adult.”  “Neglect can be physical,emotional or educational.” Child Abuse class note week 2

Signs of Child Neglect  “Be emaclated or have a distended stomach  Be underweight or dehydrated  Clothes are ill-fitting, filthy, or inappropriate for the weather, have clothes that are torn, dirty, do not fit or are not appropriate for the season.  Fearful and anxious  Have medical or dental problems that will not go away because the parent does not take the child for treatment, such as infected sores, decayed teeth or not having needed glasses  Hygiene is consistently poor (unbathed, matted and unwashed hair, noticeable body odour).” Child abuse Class note week 3

Con’t  “Is frequently late or missing from school  Is frequently unsupervised or left alone allowed to play in unsafe situations and environments  Never around adults or afraid of certain adults  Reluctant to go home (coming to school early or staying late)  Tired a lot or they may complain of nightmares or not sleeping well  Very passive and withdrawn or aggressive and disrupted  Untreated illness and physical injuries.” Child Abuse Class note week 3

Behavioural Signs  “Demand constant attention  Have parents who are not interested and not involved  Say that their parents are rarely home to look after them, have inadequate supervision, be left alone or in the care of another child who is too young  Have poor school attendance  Have an obvious lack of energy  Frequently say they are hungry, or steal or beg for food” Child Abuse Class Note week 3

Some Child Neglect Facts  “Many neglected children feel unworthy to interact with peers, may isolate themselves and may encounter peer rejection  Among the different groups of maltreated students, child neglect was associated with the poorest academic achievement  More children die from neglect than from abuse  Child neglect was a significant factor in 74 of 100 deaths of children in Ontario from January, 1994 to December, 1995  The significance of child neglect should come as no surprise, given that a lack of parental care and nurturance--hallmarks of child neglect--poses one of the greatest threats to children's healthy growth and well-being”

Some Child Neglect Statistics:  “47% of caregivers of children with substantiated neglect suffered from substance abuse (Health Canada, ).  Neglect and emotional maltreatment were more likely to be associated with families who relied on social assistance or some other form of benefit (Health Canada, ).  Female lone parents and their children are among the most economically disadvantaged. Over 60% live below--and in many cases, far below--the Statistics Canada designation for low income (Mayson, ).”

Con’t  “Mothers are found to be the neglectful parent in 72% of neglect cases (DHHS, Children's Bureau, ).  NOTE: The above 72% rate is not surprising when one considers the child neglect statistics listed immediately before it, as well as the one immediately following:  According to Statistics Canada's 1996 data, women headed the vast majority--well over 80%--of the 1.1 million lone-parent families in Canada (Vanier Institute of the Family, ).  Child neglect tends to be global--it is rarely a single form of neglect, but rather encompasses neglect of many needs (Polansky et al., 1992, p ).”

Con’t  “Of all maltreating families, neglecting families resist change most; after treatment only 40% of neglecting families maintained their new behaviours (Mosher, ).  One of the most obvious features of neglectful families is that everyone is neglected (Crittenden, ).”

B IBLIOGRAPHY Child Abuse class note week 2, 