A child is said to be abused when a child’s parent or caregiver causes intentional or unintentional injury, harm or death to a child. There are several forms of child abuse.

Types of child abuse:

• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Emotional abuse
• Child neglect

How can you tell if a child is abused?

There are usually some signs that abused children bear. They include:

• Child becomes aloof, withdrawn, sad or angry: Abused children are usually afraid, withdrawn and depressed. They also may cause bodily harm to themselves and hurt themselves. Abused children also usually tend to have a low self-esteem and may even try to commit suicide. They do not fall asleep easily and may not sleep well too.
• Relationship difficulties: Children who are regularly abused find it difficult to make friends. This is because they cannot trust people, especially adult as they are afraid of them. This becomes pretty clear when a child cannot be comforted by a relative, maid or a parent who is also the abuser.
• Risky behaviour: Abused children are disobedient and can disrupt their class. They find it difficult to concentrate as well. This is because they have lost interest in themselves and their surroundings. As a result, they perform poorly in academics. They can also get addicted to drugs and alcohol to escape their bad memories. Some children may also not like to go home but may just roam around in public places just to stay away from their abuser.

Skills to teach your child to prevent sexual abuse: While parents teach their children all kinds of necessary lessons as they grow, a majority of them miss out on teaching them about staying safe. Here are a few ways by which parents can teach their children to be safe and keep abusers away:

1. Let them know that their body parts are private and for them only: Point out all the body parts of the child and then explain to them that some parts of the body are called private parts. Teach them that the private parts are not for others to see or for them to show. Also explain that apart from their mother or father, or grandparents, no one else can see them with their clothes off.
2. Tell your child that no one must touch them “there”: Explain to your child that no one should ever touch their private parts and nor should they touch anyone’s.
3. Your child should not touch other’s bodies: Usually, abusers can abuse a child without the child realizing it. They can do it in a friendly style, and tell them that it is their little ‘secret’ and that no one else should know about it. They may also threaten the child to just keep their mouths shut. Teach your child that such ‘secrets’ are not allowed in the family and that they should immediately tell you if such anything bad happens.
4. Don’t let your child allow anyone to take photos without permission from parents: There are so many paedophiles out there who love taking pictures of kids and trading them online. Be very strict about this as this is a mental sickness we face today.
5. Teach your child to say “NO” firmly: Children cannot say “no” to an abuser firmly because of their tender age and lack of physical strength. Teach your child some code word that they should use when they feel unsafe. For example, if the child feels that he or she is in danger, they can shout the word ‘fire’. Usually, many people run to help when they hear the word fire. They should use the code word, whenever they feel unsafe anywhere. It can be at their own house, at a party or function.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, preventing abuse is as difficult as spotting it, but as parents, you need to be always on your guard so that no such issue ever comes up.  Hopefully, these points will help in keeping your children safe and secure.