Is child abuse getting worse?

[wiseguy182]

It seems like every time I turn on CNN or come across a news article on the net or what have you, there is some horrific story about some idiotic parent(s) who leave their young child unattended in the car with the windows rolled up in the scorching heat, or some story about a horrifically abused child, or some other forum of child abuse going on. Many of them die, and the ones that live will have lasting scars, both physical and mental. The parents in these cases are often so self-absorbed that they don't care about anyone but themselves and view their children as a "burden" that just gets in the way of partying, having fun and whoring it up around town. It is really quite saddening to think that there are many people who are parents who have absolutely no business having children, while at the same time, many good potential parents that can't have children for various reasons.

I feel that parents that kill/abuse their child are some of the worst criminal acts, and the people that commit them are cowards. The children are often times completely defenseless towards the adult(s).

Now of course, child abuse has always existed, but I just don't remember it being this frequent. So I pose the question: "is child abuse getting worse?"

[MegtheEgg86]

I think it's far more difficult to keep reports of child abuse out of the national consciousness now that social media and news networks/agencies are closely linked in to one another now. All it takes is a few Facebook shares of a child-left-in-a-car story from an affiliate near a small town in Ohio (for example), and then it's on CNN tomorrow. There is evidence to suggest that rates of child abuse are actually decreasing rather than increasing. I tend to subscribe to the theory that when child abuse does happen and is reported, it immediately becomes news fodder--and news is shared much differently now than it was even ten years ago.

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

There is evidence to suggest that rates of child abuse are actually decreasing rather than increasing.

Please link to this evidence. I'm not doubting you but until the internet came along I could never recall reading or hearing on the news about kids being left in hot cars. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just that I can't recall any instances. The number of kids being shaken or beaten is also alarming as are the ones that are being killed by a TV falling on them which is something you rarely (if ever) heard about until the new TV's came along that are easy to topple over. All I know is that now with social media and the ability to receive news almost as soon as it happens it seems that the rate of child abuse has gotten worse. Years ago when we didn't have all this wonderful technology we mostly got our news from the local channels at 6:00 & 11:00 and while local cases of child abuse may have been reported, national instances were hardly ever mentioned and now you read about it on an almost daily basis.

[Necco]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Please link to this evidence. I'm not doubting you but until the internet came along I could never recall reading or hearing on the news about kids being left in hot cars. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just that I can't recall any instances. The number of kids being shaken or beaten is also alarming as are the ones that are being killed by a TV falling on them which is something you rarely (if ever) heard about until the new TV's came along that are easy to topple over. All I know is that now with social media and the ability to receive news almost as soon as it happens it seems that the rate of child abuse has gotten worse. Years ago when we didn't have all this wonderful technology we mostly got our news from the local channels at 6:00 & 11:00 and while local cases of child abuse may have been reported, national instances were hardly ever mentioned and now you read about it on an almost daily basis.

The child left in the car stories have increased because incidents have increased. This is because of laws that have changed regarding car seats. With the advent of air bags, car seats were suddenly shifted to the back seats. As understanding of child safety in accidents changed, convention and law began to require that children remain rear facing longer. Rear facing means you don't see them in the rear view mirror wiggling or napping every time you glance there.

These links help illustrate these points:http://www.kidsandcars.org/userfiles...roke-chart.pdf
http://www.kidsandcars.org/userfiles...fact-sheet.pdf

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Please link to this evidence. I'm not doubting you but until the internet came along I could never recall reading or hearing on the news about kids being left in hot cars. I'm not saying it didn't happen, just that I can't recall any instances. The number of kids being shaken or beaten is also alarming as are the ones that are being killed by a TV falling on them which is something you rarely (if ever) heard about until the new TV's came along that are easy to topple over. All I know is that now with social media and the ability to receive news almost as soon as it happens it seems that the rate of child abuse has gotten worse. Years ago when we didn't have all this wonderful technology we mostly got our news from the local channels at 6:00 & 11:00 and while local cases of child abuse may have been reported, national instances were hardly ever mentioned and now you read about it on an almost daily basis.

Of course:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default...df_jan2010.pdf

This is the Executive Summary of the latest (2010) National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is required to conduct each decade. There was an overall decrease in both abuse and neglect since the last NIS findings were published in 1993 (in which rates of abuse and neglect DID in fact increase since the NIS-2 in 1986).

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by Necco

The child left in the car stories have increased because incidents have increased. This is because of laws that have changed regarding car seats. With the advent of air bags, car seats were suddenly shifted to the back seats. As understanding of child safety in accidents changed, convention and law began to require that children remain rear facing longer. Rear facing means you don't see them in the rear view mirror wiggling or napping every time you glance there.

You're not telling me anything that I'm not already aware of and even if a parent can't see the child in the mirror it's still no excuse for getting out of their car and leaving them in there. I hate to say it but I honestly believe that some of these alleged "tragic accidents" aren't accidents at all but it can be hard to prove unless you have potential evidence as in the recent case of the father in Georgia. I should also mention that dogs being left in hot cars seems to be on the rise and offenders are being handcuffed and hauled off to jail and it's even happened to some K-9 officers but the difference in their cases is that it's a tragic accident but with anyone else it's animal cruelty.

Link

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

Of course:

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default...df_jan2010.pdf

This is the Executive Summary of the latest (2010) National Incidence Study of Child Abuse and Neglect that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is required to conduct each decade. There was an overall decrease in both abuse and neglect since the last NIS findings were published in 1993 (in which rates of abuse and neglect DID in fact increase since the NIS-2 in 1986).

Thanks but I respectfully disagree.

[Zoneboy]

Sorry for venting on this but I'm just damn sick & tired of reading about all these cases of abuse and neglect when my girlfriend and I can't have any kids. Adoption is something we've considered if we got married but I don't see that ever happening.

[Necco]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

You're not telling me anything that I'm not already aware of and even if a parent can't see the child in the mirror it's still no excuse for getting out of their car and leaving them in there. I hate to say it but I honestly believe that some of these alleged "tragic accidents" aren't accidents at all but it can be hard to prove unless you have potential evidence as in the recent case of the father in Georgia. I should also mention that dogs being left in hot cars seems to be on the rise and offenders are being handcuffed and hauled off to jail and it's even happened to some K-9 officers but the difference in their cases is that it's a tragic accident but with anyone else it's animal cruelty.

Link

The links I included actually give statistics for people who intentionally left their child in the car. I'm going to assume you're just passionate about this and didn't intend to sound harsh. You asked, I gave reasons and data. That's all. Some of them ARE tragic accidents. The guy in Georgia, however, stinks to high heaven. To me, the most compelling part is that he didn't try to pick his kid up from daycare nor did he smell anything when he got in his car. Even if Cooper hadn't died a horrific death, just his DIAPER would have smelled horrible from being in the car that long.

The TRUE cases of accidentally forgetting a child in the car usually come on days when there is a change in routine. The human memory is flawed and we do more things on autopilot than we realize.

[Necco]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Sorry for venting on this but I'm just damn sick & tired of reading about all these cases of abuse and neglect when my girlfriend and I can't have any kids. Adoption is something we've considered if we got married but I don't see that ever happening.

Yeah. It sucks to see people discard their kids when so many people would give their arm to have one of their own.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The one my mind always goes back to is one incident where a toddler tripped over a power-cord on the father's Xbox 360 (the kid probably walked into his "Man Cave", ugh) and unplugged the system.

As a result, the poor kid was killed by being thrown into the wall. Horrific.

Look, I like video games, but come on. Get a grip.

[MegtheEgg86]

With all due respect to everyone involved in this conversation, I feel that perceptions of increased rates of child abuse based on news reports is a classic example of the availability heuristic in action:

http://psychology.about.com/od/ainde...-heuristic.htm

We all do this at some point or another. This certainly isn't anything personal, and it is absolutely not my intent to ridicule anyone. But we all make use of this heuristic quite frequently without realizing that we're doing it. Journalists are notorious for not only falling prey to it themselves, but for recognizing it in, and exploiting it among, their reader- or viewership (Nancy Grace is a good example of someone who often employs this in her reporting).

The data Necco provided on child deaths in cars seems legitimate (although I would like to see information on the methodology of the data collection and analysis), but it doesn't necessarily equate to increased rates of child abuse or neglect. As she stated, a number of those incidents are accidental. Some of them aren't, like our illustrious Virginia College student here in Augusta a few weeks back (thank God the baby survived):

http://www.growingyourbaby.com/2014/...or-50-minutes/

...but that doesn't mean all of these incidents can be linked to abusive or neglectful parents intentionally attempting to inflict pain on their children, or acting with depraved indifference.

[Necco]

I wasn't positing that child abuse was on the rise. I was explaining why car deaths were which was one of the things wiseguy182 was venting about.

Most of those deaths are memory lapses.

Serious props for using the word heuristic though, man, I just had psych 101 flashbacks.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by Necco

I wasn't positing that child abuse was on the rise. I was explaining why car deaths were which was one of the things wiseguy182 was venting about.

Most of those deaths are memory lapses.

Serious props for using the word heuristic though, man, I just had psych 101 flashbacks.

Right, understood. I know you were explaining just that.

'Person-who' reasoning was another favorite of mine: "I know a guy who ate bacon three times a day and smoked like a chimney, and HE lived to be 90 years old and never had a heart attack, so hey, I'm good."

[wiseguy182]

I believe that child abuse is on the rise and have found numerous online articles to back up my beliefs. Too many to post.

I also don't believe that parents can forget their children are in a car. It's not like forgetting your walllet or purse at home, it's a human being. I noticed that a lot of Justin Harris's supporters are now quietly abadoning their support of him. I look forward to Justin Harris spending eternity in Hell where he'll find out what it's like to suffer in scorching heat. The wife is guilty as well.

It's also shameful that many children are dying because of the new t.v.'s. I have never understood all the fuss about widescreen t.v. and am sick of people salivating over them. I don't view things in widescreen IRL and I don't care to on t.v. I also don't like those annoying black boxes at the top and bottom of the screen. Perfectly happy with my square t.v. Pretty much the only useful thing about widescreens is you can hang them on the wall.