Many fail to understand the serious nature of childhood neglect. Dependent upon parents for food, clothing, shelter, mental and emotional development, children who grow up with neglectful parents can face a host of issues—both in the present and their future lives. In fact, roughly 45 percent of childhood deaths due to parental mistreatment can be attributed to childhood neglect issues, and adult survivors of childhood neglect face depression, intimacy issues, and a host of physical and psychological obstacles to overcome—including drug or alcohol addiction.
The Four Main Types of Childhood Neglect
Because the abusive cycle of child neglect centers around acts of omission, many childhood neglect survivors minimize the impact of neglectful parenting on their lives. As you begin to deal with buried trauma in your journey towards drug or alcohol recovery, breaking the denial around your childhood experiences of neglect enables you to take the first step. You may even find that you experienced neglect in areas that you did not recognize before. Many private rehab facilities will provide individualized counseling such as talk therapy, hypnotherapy and trauma therapy that can help you overcome the effects of all four types of childhood neglect.
- Physical Neglect
Physical neglect is the most common form of childhood neglect and is marked by lack of basic needs being provided for a child. By failing to provide food, shelter or clothing, the development of a child’s physical and mental health is compromised, leading to potential long term problems. - Emotional Neglect
Emotional neglect involves both what a child witnesses and experience. A variety of parental behaviors constitute emotional neglect. Depriving a child or normal social contact by either ignoring, isolating or rejecting them can have a profound effect. This is marked by not showing affection or acknowledging the presence of a a child. Additionally, direct behaviors such as verbally terrorizing or assaulting a child by belittling or creating an environment of fear can lead to poor self-esteem, self-harm, and potential chemical dependency issues. - Educational Neglect
Guardians commit educational neglect by failing to enroll a child into or insist on a child attending school. This can result in a child failing to learn basic academic and life skills which can lead to hardships later in life. Additionally, children may not develop fully emotionally or socially. - Medical Neglect
When parents fail to provide proper medical care to their children, they are committing medical neglect. A parent is guilty of medical neglect if they do not heed the preventative advice of medical professionals, causing the child to encounter harm. Furthermore, if parents who do not seek out treatment for obvious health issues are guilty of neglect.
