And even if they can't hear it, they will always feel the effects of violence in their home. They may hear about the violence from adults talking about it. They may see how the violence affects their parents. They may be abused themselves either by being caught in the crossfire or later as victims of violence themselves. Children in violent homes are at increased risk for serious physical and sexual abuse.
Children are never safe from family violence.
How much violence affects children depends, in part, on the extent and severity of the violence. Being a loving parent is often difficult for both the adult victim and the abuser. Though the more profound effects occur in older children, even infants can sense something is wrong and experience problems in feeding, play, and other daily activities. Infants disrupted by adult violence may become fussier. The fussiness can increase an infant's own risk of becoming a target of the violence.