Emotional care by a parent or carer is really important to a child's healthy growth and development and to help them form strong emotional bonds. Physical abuse is when a child is deliberately injured including shaking a baby or hitting, beating, burning or scalding a child or young person. Most physical abuse of children happens in the home by a parent or carer who is angry, loses control or uses excessive physical punishment. Physical abuse is always dangerous to children and can lead to serious physical injury. Emotional abuse is when adults deprive a child of love, affection and attention or when an adult continually speaks to a child in a negative or hurtful way and makes them feel worthless.
Emotional abuse hurts because it happens over a long time by someone who is important to a child.
Children see themselves as others see them. If someone continually tells the child they are not loveable and hopeless, then the child begins to see themselves as hopeless and unlovable and can develop emotional problems. Child sexual abuse doesn't just mean sexual intercourse although it is involved. Child sexual abuse involves a range of sexual activity including touching a child on their breasts or penis, masturbating in front of children, flashing or oral sex. Child sexual abuse occurs when an adult or someone bigger than the child uses his or her authority or power over the child, or takes advantage of the child's trust and respect, to involve the child in sexual activity.