Mennonite Central Committee

Neglect

 

1. Physical neglect
2. Educational neglect
3. Emotional neglect
4. Medical neglect

 

1. Physical neglect

Accounts for the majority of cases of maltreatment

Physical neglect may include:

• Refusal of or extreme delay in seeking necessary health care
• Child Abandonment
• Inadequate Supervision
• Rejection of a child leading to expulsion from the home
• A failure to adequately provide for the child's safety and physical and emotional needs

 

Physical neglect can severely impact a child's development by causing failure to thrive, malnutrition, serious illnesses, physical harm in the form of cuts, bruises and burns due to lack of supervision and a lifetime of low self-esteem.

 

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2. Educational neglect

Educational neglect may include:

• A child is allowed to miss school frequently without legitimate reason
• A child is of mandatory school age but not enrolled in school
• A child is not receiving needed special educational training

 

Educational neglect can lead to underachievement in acquiring necessary basic skills, dropping out of school and/or continually disruptive behavior.

 

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3. Emotional neglect

Emotional neglect includes such actions as:

• Chronic or extreme spousal abuse in the child's presence
• Allowing a child to use drugs or alcohol
• Refusal or failure to provide needed psychological care
• Constant belittling
• Withholding of affection

 

These behaviors can lead to poor self-image, alcohol or drug abuse, destructive behavior and even suicide.

Severe neglect of infants can result in the infant failing to grow and thrive and may even lead to infant death.

 

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4. Medical neglect

Medical neglect is the failure to provide appropriate health care for a child although financially able to do so. In some cases, a parent or caretaker will withhold traditional medical care during the practice of religious beliefs. These cases generally do not fall under the definition of medical neglect, however, in some situations a court order could be enforced to ensure medical treatment of a child in order to save a child's life or prevent life-threatening injury resulting from the lack of treatment.

Medical neglect can result in poor overall health and compounded medical problems.

 

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