Verbal Abuse Among Children

Verbal Abuse among Children

Language has always had the ability to affect people's emotions--both positively and negatively. From stirring speeches about freedom to angry tirades on injustice, words can move us. The most common way to insult someone is to resort to name calling, attempting to cause an effect with a word of two. Name-calling happens in a variety of circumstances are often heard (names such as stupid, fatso, ugly, gay, or retard) and can occur any time in our daily lives at home, school, or work, and particular in school. Disrespectful names and other forms of verbal bullying and harassment will break students' spirits, causing them to skip school or drop out. Furthermore, students who are bullied suffer from depression and anxiety when the name-calling is constant and severe, and they may drive to attempt to take their own lives. Even though, some teasing is innocent and meant to be fun--laughing with someone instead of at him, by when it's cruel, whether intentionally or not, children often remember the experience with pain up to adulthood. Children who endure constant teasing often have damaged self esteem, feel emotionally abused, and can adopt obsessive behaviors.

Some children have confidence in themselves, but if friends or bullies make them feel stupid, it may lower their self-esteem. As an example, my niece Rose had difficulty keeping up in school and getting the good grades she had hoped for. Every time she took math tests, she received bad grades. All her classmates knew that she had problems with math, and some called her "dummy". Also every time she went to class, she felt bad about herself and the experience lowered her self-esteem. She frequently spoke negatively about herself, saying, "I'm stupid. I'll never learn how to do this, and nobody cares about me anyway." She exhibited a low tolerance for frustration, giving up easily or waiting for somebody else to take over. Finally, she became insecure, and usually isolated herself to avoid the bad experience. Children may drop-out from school. Teachers should have stopped the other student's name-calling. Student, For Rose to do well in school, she should have been supported and to overcome her problem in math. Not discourage by being labeled "Dummy" Student should always be encouraged to respect each other.

Another form of abuse is hurtful criticism constantly. Criticizing someone is of emotional abuse and may ruin a person's self-image. Teasing between siblings will often have an effect that is both humiliating and degrading. For instance, Chris, my nine-year-old nephew disliked taking baths, and every time I saw him, he looked unkempt and smelled of urine. When Michael, his brother, teased him by calling him "Stinky", he reacted angrily by calling back, "You're Stinky" Chris believed "I'm stinky" when the