Child Abuse Prevention
I chose to do the child abuse prevention workshop online since i think that all teachers should be very aware of this issue since they are working with children on a daily basis. After reading the section that discusses the welfare of a child being the responsibility of the entire community i believe every adult should know this information because a neighbor or acquaintance of a family might be able to pick up or witness situations that a teacher or health care provider cannot.
First the course discussed the warning signs of children who have been exposed to physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect. An abused child may have frequent bruises but in different stages of healing, this means that some bruises may be dark and purple, while others are yellow and blue. This is an indicator that the injuries occurred days apart. Sexual abuse is the hardest to identify from how the child would appear publicly but may be detectable in their behavior. Neglect is the most common and can be indicated by things like reoccurring lice.
There are also things that may be observed in the parent but these indicators cannot be the only reason why someone might assume that a child is being abused or neglected. These factors, like substance abuse, lack of friends and social isolation, domestic abuse or financial stress, are only clues to strengthen more substantial evidence.
As a educator you can inform children about how to protect themselves or recognize when they are not being treated correctly. It is important to give these talks before recess or lunch time when a child will have the chance to speak to you privately. If a child does chose to confide in you it is important that you let the child do all the talking. You can say statements like "did it make you feel happy" to get the child to explain but do not suggest situations or details. Let the child describe and talk about what they want to and reassure them that the only people who will know will be the ones needed to make them safe. These incidences should be reported directly to your mandated reporter.
This topic can be related to the importance of a parent and educator relationship. Some things that may seem concerning may be perfectly explainable. In the past i noticed a child had some sort of inflammation on their hands that was causing them to bleed when i was a kick line coach for elementary school girls. I immediately brought it up to the women who was my boss and it turned out to be just an eczema flair up that the child experienced regularly. Parent-educator relationships can easily dismiss those situations but also strengthen a case. If a child is displaying physical and behavioral warning signs and the parents have not been compliant with typical educator parent communications or seemed to be very uninterested in their child when they do speak with you that may be a sign that what you suspect could be very real. But other risk factors of the parent like domestic abuse, substance abuse, and being a child abuse victim themselves would be hard to detect in even a strong parent educator relationship.
First the course discussed the warning signs of children who have been exposed to physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect. An abused child may have frequent bruises but in different stages of healing, this means that some bruises may be dark and purple, while others are yellow and blue. This is an indicator that the injuries occurred days apart. Sexual abuse is the hardest to identify from how the child would appear publicly but may be detectable in their behavior. Neglect is the most common and can be indicated by things like reoccurring lice.
There are also things that may be observed in the parent but these indicators cannot be the only reason why someone might assume that a child is being abused or neglected. These factors, like substance abuse, lack of friends and social isolation, domestic abuse or financial stress, are only clues to strengthen more substantial evidence.
As a educator you can inform children about how to protect themselves or recognize when they are not being treated correctly. It is important to give these talks before recess or lunch time when a child will have the chance to speak to you privately. If a child does chose to confide in you it is important that you let the child do all the talking. You can say statements like "did it make you feel happy" to get the child to explain but do not suggest situations or details. Let the child describe and talk about what they want to and reassure them that the only people who will know will be the ones needed to make them safe. These incidences should be reported directly to your mandated reporter.
This topic can be related to the importance of a parent and educator relationship. Some things that may seem concerning may be perfectly explainable. In the past i noticed a child had some sort of inflammation on their hands that was causing them to bleed when i was a kick line coach for elementary school girls. I immediately brought it up to the women who was my boss and it turned out to be just an eczema flair up that the child experienced regularly. Parent-educator relationships can easily dismiss those situations but also strengthen a case. If a child is displaying physical and behavioral warning signs and the parents have not been compliant with typical educator parent communications or seemed to be very uninterested in their child when they do speak with you that may be a sign that what you suspect could be very real. But other risk factors of the parent like domestic abuse, substance abuse, and being a child abuse victim themselves would be hard to detect in even a strong parent educator relationship.
Hi Bridget, your blog looks great. I love the theme your posts have created. As for your recent blog about the Child Abuse and Prevention online workshop, I also participated in it. I thought it was a great workshop and helped me learn a lot more about child abuse and ways to prevent it and ways to suspect it. I also connected this workshop to the importance of parent and educator relationships. I enjoyed reading your blog and your tips from the workshop. Over all, you did a phenomenal job at explaining the workshop and its importance for teachers and future teachers!
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