Blogging Mama

This is a photo of my second child, Johann David. I think he is about two to three months ago. So probably it was taken early of 2004.

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This is a forwarded email. I am not sure if it’s true since I got two versions of this story.

Anyway, this story can be qualified as child abuse in some sense. If a parent doesn’t learn to control their temper and allows it to linger, the situation often ends up in violent reaction towards their children.

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This is a true story which happened in the States. A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck. The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy’s hands into pulp as punishment. When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital.

Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy’s hands. When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, Daddy, Im sorry about your truck.” Then he asked, “But when are my fingers going to grow back?” The father went home & committed suicide.

Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or u wish to take revenge. Think first before u lose your patience with someone u love. Trucks can be repaired… Broken bones & hurt feelings often can’t. Too often we fail to recognize the difference between the person and the performance. We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge.

People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

This picture was taken somewhere the year 2004. It is either my son Johann David have turned one year old or still turning one. My daugther Micah Izabel is four years old by then. I couldn’t remember the exact month because I was already working at this time.

It was a few months ago when I found myself crying about the story of Baby P. Then a few days later, I received a note in Facebook about the three year old child named Sarah who was murdered by her father. After those encounters, I just cried and passed the notes to others as a way to relieve the guilty of not doing anything.

Then just a few days earlier, I was invited to view a detailed video about what really happened with Baby P. Then I cried again while looking at my baby. I can’t imagine these things happening to babies and little children. When I searched for more child abuse videos at YouTube.com, I was devastated. There are many worst cases of child abuse everywhere. There I was able to met Baby Briana, the Yates children, Ariana & Tyler Payne and many more. It was sick and it made me restless. I need to do something. I need to help create awareness to stop child abuse.

Child abuse, be it physical or emotional, causes a lot of pain. The damage lasts for a lifetime resulting to psychological and physical problems. A child who survives from such horror sometimes ends up with the same abusive behavior or not suffers severe depression and mental illness. Violence breeds violence.

If our children are the hope of our future, how can we build a better future if we create bitter children? How can we build a better place when they grew up in a bitter place? Check out the stats below on how child abuse is happening and what the after effects are:

Statistics
-Almost five children die everyday as a result of child abuse. More than three out of four are under the age of 4.
-It is estimated that between 60-85% of child fatalities due to maltreatment are not recorded as such on death certificates.
-A report of child abuse is made every ten seconds.
-Ninety percent of child sexual abuse victims know the perpetrator in some way; 68% are abused by family members.
-Child abuse occurs at every socio-economic level, across ethnic and cultural lines, within all religions and at all levels of education.
-Thirty-one percent of women in prison in the United States were abused as children.
-Over 60% of people in drug rehabilitation centers report being abused or neglected as a child.
-About 30% of abused and neglected children will later abuse their own children, continuing the horrible cycle of abuse.
-About 80% of 21 year old that were abused as children met criteria for at least one psychological disorder.
-The estimated annual cost resulting from child abuse and neglect in the United States for 2007 is $104 billion.

Consequences of Child Abuse and Neglect in USA
-Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy
-Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime.
-Children who have been sexually abused are 2.5 times more likely develop alcohol abuse
-Children who have been sexually abused are 3.8 times more likely develop drug addiction
-Nearly 2/3’s of the people in treatment for drug abuse reported being abused as children

Consequences of Child Abuse in the USA
-Eighty percent of young adults who had been abused met the diagnostic criteria for at least 1 psychiatric disorder at the age of 21 (including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, & post-traumatic stress disorder)
-Abused children are 25% more likely to experience teen pregnancy
-Abused teens are 3 times less likely to practice safe sex, putting them at greater risk for STDs

The Link Between Abuse As a Child & Future Criminal Behavior
-Fourteen percent of all men in prison in the USA were abused as children
-Thirty-six percent of all women in prison were abused as children
-Children who experience child abuse & neglect are 59% more likely to be arrested as a juvenile, 28% more likely to be arrested as an adult, and 30% more likely to commit violent crime.

The Link Between Child Abuse & Substance Abuse
-Children who have been sexually abused are 2.5 times more likely develop alcohol abuse
-Children who have been sexually abused are 3.8 times more likely develop drug addictions
-Nearly 2/3’s of the people in treatment for drug abuse reported being abused as children

If you want to help and create awareness on child abuse, there are many things to do it namely:
1. Commit to never hurt a child.
2. Report acts of child abuse to authorities.
3. Grab a blue ribbon and place it on your sidebar.
4. Blog about child abuse.
5. Donate to non-profit organizations which are against child abuse and also child therapy.
6. Volunteer at child recovery centers.
7. PRAY for those who are suffering and those who survived.

I saw this blog post from my co-blogger and friend here in Bacolod City. Since I have a baby and two other children, it pains me to see many babies and children suffer. So I am re-posting my friend’s post here to support this cause. Please share your blessings! Help Je-An live and enjoy life!

= RE-POST FROM SHE WRITES, YOU WRITE. =