The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children

The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children Millions of children from three to seventeen become the witnesses of domestic violence in the US. Most of the cases are when a woman becomes a victim of her husband or boyfriend. It has become a real problem of modern society as it influences the psychological development of every kid of any age. Becoming a witness means suffering from the effects of domestic violence on childrens behavior (problems and depression are guaranteed): Hearing screams, fights, threats, etc. Seeing fights, threats, etc. Seeing the results of the abuse such as blood or tore clothes; Being aware of the abuse. Knowing the social effects of domestic violence and the ways to regulate the behavior of adults, it’s possible to change the lives of little and big kids for better. What is growing up with domestic violence like? We can imagine ourselves little kids and draw a picture of a family where we can observe an abuse. What can we feel? These feelings include fear and anxiety. You never know when this scary occasion occurs and what you can do to prevent it. You never know how you will go to bed tonight. You never know if you mom will wish you good night and nothing wrong will happen to her. You never know if she survives the next time. You feel worried about your close relatives that live with you. You cannot stand them crying and begging for help anymore. Life is so hard and unpredictable that you start dreaming to escape from this world full of fear and anger. You start behaving like a perfect child to make your parents love you and you do your best to make them smile. You can even start feeling that everything is over. But the darks times come back again and you hear a strange noise in your parent’s room. You start blaming yourself that you didn’t do all possible to make your parents happy. You didn’t do anything to prevent the disaster. And now you’re hearing your mom screaming and falling on the floor. Your tears are dropping down and you run to your parent’s room. You run to your dad and you beg him to stop hurting your mom and you feel you’ve fallen down. You feel powerless and you feel there’s no way out. Pain, embarrassment, and humiliation. What are long term effects of domestic violence on children? The situation can be viewed from another angle. According to the child exposure to domestic violence statistics, 80% of kids suffer from stomachache and headache, they make their beds wet and they cannot concentrate on anything. Kids can be hurt when trying to prevent the abuse by their parents. They cannot make friends with other kids and they suffer from lack of communication at school. Depression is the major problem that teenagers have when they become older than 10 years old. Healthy and mental development of kids can suffer from regular witnessing of abuse. One of the long term effects of witnessing domestic violence as a child is doing the same in the future. A boy will grow up and he will repeat the words and actions of his father in his own family even if he is against any kind of abuse. It can happen only once, but this boy will suffer from the anger that is inside him and he will fight against a monster that is inside him. If he doesn’t ask for help, he will probably abuse his wife or kids. A girl will grow up and look for the husband who can hurt her. She will try to evoke anger and other negative feelings in her husband to experience the same feelings and emotions that she had in her childhood. One of the effects of domestic violence on babies is a result of being abused in the past or witnessing the abuse. Babies suffer and they don’t know how to change the situation. They don’t have the way out. Or they consider it to be as something normal. How to prevent negative effects of domestic violence? Children are not responsible for the behavior of their parents. They cannot influence anything. Parents often think that if the kid doesn’t become a witness of the real physical abuse, they won’t feel any negative effects from it. However, a negative tension that exists in such homes can also negatively influence the development of children. So preventing only a child exposure to domestic violence for a short or long period will not prevent any harmful impact on the kid. One more preventive action that can be taken by the parents is visiting a psychologist who can help overcome hard periods in the life of the family. A male partner should show his respect for the female partner and show his love to the kids. Mutual understanding and lowering the level of tension is possible only if the person who is abusing someone else is willing to accept changes and change the behavior. Medical therapy is also available if visiting the psychologist doesn’t help or there’s a mental disease. Conclusion There’s nothing impossible in this world. The effects of domestic violence on womens mental health are reflected in children as well. Kids are sensitive and they feel guilty for everything that happens at home. They cannot imagine another way of living if they observe abuse from the baby age. Boys and girls grow up being used to physical and moral abuse and in most cases, they look for the partner who looks like one of their parents. A sad statistics show that negative effects are long term and they influence every sphere of life. There’s a way out for any kid or grown-up if there’s a bad situation in the family. Any kid can ask for help and save himself or herself from the destroying impact of the family. There’s no magic remedy for the abuse, there’s only hard work of the parents that can get assistance from a psychologist. Children can always get another family where they will feel love and respect and where they will forget about everything bad that ever happened before.