**INTRODUCTION** Hello @steemkidss, steemit members of this community and all my highly esteemed kids' lovers in this unique community, greetings to you all and all the best. In this article, I'll be taking us through the forms of child abuse that is common or prevalent in my own locality and how those ills can be avoided. **In my locality, the following acts of child abuse are prevalent such as Physical Child Abuse, Verbal Child Abuse, and Child Neglect.** At this juncture, we're going to consider these moral ills one after the other. ![2gsjgna1uruv8X2R8t7XDv5HGXyHWCCu4rKmbB5pmEzjYSg7SnZ4Loy8DiFQ24Tspgksf3RTqdoUrJu1ThKdbp5P2oVmjSV16aVa7s8FjRHrzLFubc.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaDR7rpn9siVWJu1zFF6UA3T1o4BjekMCJHLNkLFKSXkL/2gsjgna1uruv8X2R8t7XDv5HGXyHWCCu4rKmbB5pmEzjYSg7SnZ4Loy8DiFQ24Tspgksf3RTqdoUrJu1ThKdbp5P2oVmjSV16aVa7s8FjRHrzLFubc.jpeg) **Physical Child Abuse** This is a common type of child abuse in my vicinity whereby some children from certain families are extremely punished or chastised by their parents beyond limits under the pretext of administering discipline especially when under provocation , and also most wards such as house helps are severely maltreated and also brutalized by their guardians especially their Madams whom they're living with as if they're a nonentity. Most times, some househelps are even dehumanized by their owners. This form of child abuse takes various forms such as hitting a child with a fist, belt or weapon, kicking him or her with leg and in most cases, leaving him or her with a permanent scar on the affected body part(s). **Check it out in the images below.** ![Screenshot_20220124-174245.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmcHFQXDyc54p9JjKZ5pgy36eZKDAhKW4AaruYkN9ryNY1/Screenshot_20220124-174245.jpg) ![Screenshot_20220124-150126~3.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYC3YjRGBSU9k8ez4LEWqdimnJ5fYJoUCTiTkBBWb4vnb/Screenshot_20220124-150126~3.jpg) ![Screenshot_20220124-143246.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmby32CPezUw5T6kwia4QSHEJ4dvW5uKLLwGeWE5ZyiNjv/Screenshot_20220124-143246.jpg) [Image source](pixabay.com) It is noteworthy that the perpetrators of this dastardly act are both men and women, but mostly the women. Other forms of this type of child abuse that prevail in my vicinity are using hot objects on a child's shoulders, buttocks, faces, forearms, etc, and all of this are being done under the pretext of disciplining a child, however, this is a wrong approach to parental discipline as recommended by God in his word, the Bible. *The perpetrators of this evil and cruel act are mostly women as aforementioned, and the individuals that are mostly at risk concerning this physical child abuse are the female children who live with other families as househelps.* **The Effects Of This Form Of Child Abuse On The Kids.** * It can have lifelong health impacts both physically and psychologically such as traumatic experiences like shock. * It can impair a child's health mentally, emotionally, physically. * It can leave unwanted scars on the child's affected body part for a prolonged period of time or even throughout the child's lifetime. * Physical child abuse can lead to depression in a child as a result of anxiety and maltreatments. **How Kids Can Avoid physical Abuse** * In order to avoid this problem, kids need to get to know their parents or guardians well, study their character(nature) and dispositions such as their likes and dislikes so as to be able to get along with them peacefully for mutual coexistence thereby averting being victims of physical Abuse. ![2gsjgna1uruv8X2R8t7XDv5HGXyHWCCu4rKmbB5pmEzjYSg7SnZ4Loy8DiFQ24Tspgksf3RTqdoUrJu1ThKdbp5P2oVmjSV16aVa7s8FjRHrzLFubc.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaDR7rpn9siVWJu1zFF6UA3T1o4BjekMCJHLNkLFKSXkL/2gsjgna1uruv8X2R8t7XDv5HGXyHWCCu4rKmbB5pmEzjYSg7SnZ4Loy8DiFQ24Tspgksf3RTqdoUrJu1ThKdbp5P2oVmjSV16aVa7s8FjRHrzLFubc.jpeg) **Verbal Child Abuse.** This is a more subtle form of child abuse prevalent in my locality, meaning that the perpetrators of this type of cruel act against kids ignorantly and quickly dismiss it as child abuse rationalizing that they have the right to stab a child with hurtful words and abuses since he or she is under their care and also living under their roof. To this end, both male and female children are at risk regarding this problem, and this may include children who're living in other people's homes as servants or househelps and those who are biological children in the home. The perpetrators of this type of child abuse against children are some parents who are impatient with their children or wards and also lack self-control. **The Effects Verbal Abuse Can Have On Children.** * It can make a child feel humiliated and worthless before the abuser. * It can make a child feel unloved by the perpetrator, be it the mother or the father. * It can make the victim of the verbal abuse to always want to avoid coming in contact with the abuser. Kids can avoid being abused verbally by either their parents or their guardians by doing the right thing at the right time. ![2gsjgna1uruv8X2R8t7XDv5HGXyHWCCu4rKmbB5pmEzjYSg7SnZ4Loy8DiFQ24Tspgksf3RTqdoUrJu1ThKdbp5P2oVmjSV16aVa7s8FjRHrzLFubc.jpeg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmaDR7rpn9siVWJu1zFF6UA3T1o4BjekMCJHLNkLFKSXkL/2gsjgna1uruv8X2R8t7XDv5HGXyHWCCu4rKmbB5pmEzjYSg7SnZ4Loy8DiFQ24Tspgksf3RTqdoUrJu1ThKdbp5P2oVmjSV16aVa7s8FjRHrzLFubc.jpeg) **Child Neglect** This is another form of child abuse that is common in my locality. This is a serious omission on the part of parents who are either incapable of taking proper care of their children as a result of poor background or as a result of their own mistakes in life, or the omission could even be a deliberate act on the part of parents or a parent for selfish reasons. This reminds me of the God-given responsibility that parents have been charged with toward their children. To this end, God's word says: >"Certainly if anyone does not provide for those who are his own, and especially for those who are members of his household, he has disowned the faith and is worse than a person without faith."- 1 John 5:8 You'll all agree with me that this Bible passage discourages child neglect on the part of both parents and guardians except in certain situations whereby parents are suddenly overtaken or affected by a surprising turn of events beyond their control in these uncertain times, of course this aspect is quite understandable, otherwise there's no justifiable reason for parents to neglect their children in any way. The most common forms of child neglect on the part of some parents and guardians in my locality are: * Not providing for the basic needs of their children such as adequate food, accomodation, clothing. * Not being able to send their children and wards to school. * Not providing adequate and qualitative healthcare for their children or wards. * Not giving their children the necessary attention they deserve or need, especially when they're faced with pressing problems. In fact, those who are at risk the most are both male and female children of low income earners and also children from poor families especially those whose parents have no good jobs, or no jobs at all particularly some fathers. In addition, the other group of children that are also at risk are children from polygamous homes who barely get the attention of their parents especially when they're in need physically, emotionally and otherwise. **The images below depict how children who experience this form of child abuse feel and look, check them out.** ![Screenshot_20220124-193018.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmYYU9VwuNxoGZ34tksvr7KWUjdXob3VKtmniGDewv9344/Screenshot_20220124-193018.jpg) ![Screenshot_20220124-193115.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmRuaJLUw2C4fKBVYbXWhkN9qUgShmwgd9d1UC6wRSmLrr/Screenshot_20220124-193115.jpg) ![Screenshot_20220124-193052~2.jpg](https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZYnEQLUTvaz9vb4LLKvWvpJF7roQSgAoxDGcHP7Y14qZ/Screenshot_20220124-193052~2.jpg) [Image source](pixabay.com) **Effects Of Neglect On The Kids** * Child neglect can trigger psychological and emotional problems in kids. * It can lead to lack of trust or confidence in parents on the part of kids. * It can make kids feel withdrawn from their parents. * Neglect can trigger feelings of frustration and depression in kids. The kids can avoid this problem by fulfilling their divine role toward their parents such as obedience to their parents in order to get the attention and love of their parents. **CONCLUSION** I am grateful to @steemkidss for organizing this timely contest, and i hope it will help parents and guardians to appreciate the fact that children are precious gifts from God whether they are children living with their biological parents or those living with other families, therefore, they should be well-cared for, loved, protected and not abused in any way. I hereby invite @goodspeed22, @essygold and @meymeyshops to join me in writing this contest. Cc: @ngoenyi