Health & Parenting

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A child who experiences psychological abuse has a parent or caregiver who uses tactics to hurt a child psychologically, such as by saying demeaning words or by failing to be supportive. The emotional pain caused by this type of abuse can devastate a child. An emotionally abused child may:

• Have little interest in what is going on around him or her and not be eager to try new activities.
• Have inappropriate responses to pain, other people, or changes in his or her environment.
• Avoid a parent or caregiver.
• Act overly fearful, angry, depressed, or anxious.
• Perform poorly in school.
• Inflict self-injury or be self-destructive.

Symptoms of sexual abuse

A child with symptoms of recent sexual abuse may be reluctant to go to the bathroom; may show signs of discomfort or pain while sitting, urinating, or passing stools; may have discharge from the vagina or penis; or may bleed through his or her pants.

Certain behaviors may also point to sexual abuse. These include:¹

• Age-inappropriate awareness and knowledge of sex or sexual behavior.
• Running away from home.
• Suicide attempts.
• Involvement with drugs or prostitution.

Note: Sexual abuse is very different from normal sexual play between children. Sexual abuse is a criminal activity. It includes any sexual activity that the child is not able to understand or consent to. This may include, but is not limited to, obvious sexual acts (such as intercourse), fondling, exhibitionism, voyeurism, and exposure to pornography.

Normal sexual play involves preteen children within 4 years of age of each other, who have similar developmental levels. No force, power, or coercion is used, and the play-primarily touching and looking at genitalia-is driven by an innocent curiosity.

Symptoms of neglect

A child is neglected when he or she does not have appropriate care. A child's general appearance, home environment, and behavior patterns can show signs of neglect.

A child who is neglected may be:

• Significantly underweight or overweight.
• Developmentally delayed.
• Obviously unhealthy, such as being sick or tired most of the time.
• Dirty or have poor personal hygiene.
• Inadequately clothed.