Understanding Negligence In Child Abuse
Child abuse is a pervasive threat to the wellbeing of children in the United States. There are many types of abuse, including physical, sexual and psychological. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, neglect is a type of child abuse, too. Generally speaking, neglect involves passively failing to give a child the things that he/she requires. For example, a caregiver that fails to provide food and shelter for their child may be guilty of neglect. If a child is injured or becomes ill and his/her caregiver doesn’t provide adequate medical attention, the child may be considered a victim of neglect.
Neglect is not always easy to identify; some situations may appear negligent but are actually the result of religious convictions or family values. Because of this, it may be easy for situations of neglect to be overlooked. Negligent caregivers may fail to give a child proper medical, educational, emotional or physical care. However, failure to provide a child with enough food may be the result of poverty, not negligence. Thus, negligence could be more accurately defined as the non-accidental failure to provide a child with the necessary physical, medical, educational or emotional care.
