It seems fairly basic to say that if a child is being beaten, not feed, not bathed or doesn't receive affection at home it counts as neglect. If only it was that easy.
When I heard stories from teachers about having children in their class that were clearly being beaten I asked what they did about it. Across the board they responded with something like "we document everything! Every time a child comes in and we worry you need to let someone know. But in reality it is almost impossible to prove that anything is happening. It is extremely hard to prove that a child needs to be removed from a home." One teacher had a child who was not being fed or bathed and beaten but the mom talked a "convincing story" so it took an entire year to have the child removed from the house. Other incidences have included a bug infestation or no way to clean clothes both of which affect the other students in the class.
Today I had a child come in with a large bruise on his cheek. (Let me point out you either have to be really looking or the bruise has to be pretty bad to see it through black skin.) When I asked the child what had happened he responded with "I don't know". Having lived with a little brother I fully understand that boys run into things, jump off of things, and get hurt on a regular basis... but my mind immediately went to "who did that to you". Is it because of the neighborhood we are in or because I have seen some of the parents or because I am just paranoid and am looking for it??? It has to be so so so hard to be a teacher and know a child is being neglected but not able to help them.
- Miss Hansen
You are so right! It is very hard to get children removed from the home when, in your heart, you know that they are hurting. It's so important to document everything that you see and hear when in "sticky" situations like this.
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