a child against a wall, shaking a child with extreme force or placing parts of a childs anatomy on hot or burning objects to cause pain. (Authors note: Sometimes in extreme cases the shaking of a child with such extreme force as an aggressive abuser possesses can cause severe brain damage as the brain is crushed from repeated impact against the skull. This type of injury is especially damaging in babies and small children.) Some experts say the For every reported case of physical abuse over 100 are not reported. (Dolan p.7) Nobody knows precisely how many children die each year from physical abuse at the hands of adults. The National committee for the Prevention of child Abuse in its annual survey of all 50 states estimates the 1,125 children died from abuse in 1988, a figure that, according to the Committees report most likely represents the lowest estimate of the problem. What is known is that reports of child fatalities resulting from abuse are steadily increasing... (Neal p.1) Many times when physical abuse is caused by a parent or guardian, the child is not taken for medical help, even when wounds or injuries are very severe. When they are taken into the hospital it is usually be a secondary member of the family, one who may not have caused the abuse but did not stop it either. This type of person might be called a facilitator. In the past, there was much more discipline in homes and schools then there is today. In one interview, I had the following response to the question, What do you consider to be abuse; as compared to punishment and discipline? Beating with a stick the size of a telegraph pole. Or forcing a kid to eat liver. That is what the government sees. I see it as abuse if the child isn't learning from it. Kids way back when were slapped on the wrist with rulers. They didn't go out and kill each other as many of the kids do today. (Towle E-mail) Many people which I interview displayed one of two attitudes: No hitting o...
