When people think about child abuse they often think of a badly beaten and underfed child or one who is extremely troubled. Many people usually consider this misfortune the result of a poor, uncivilized, horrible family life. Unfortunately, these stereotypes are often untrue.
Child abuse can occur in any household from the hands or mouth of any authority figure.
Unlike the general stereotype of the physically abused child, there are many different types of child abuse and each one is terribly devastating because abuse violates a child's trust and innocence. One of the most common, yet most ignored types of abuse, is neglect. A child denied these necessities has felt physical and emotional neglect. Other forms of abuse are emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Emotional child abuse has occurred when a child receives extensive criticism from a significant person present during the child's emotional development.