How do you feel about reporting child abuse? Where do you draw the line?

Anne - posted on 08/29/2012

I worked at a head start last year and was taught it was my job to report not to determine if they had been abused. It never hurts to make the call like others said better to make the call then a child end up dead and have to live with that guilt the rest of your life. Don't hesitate make the call report and let others do the investigating.

Melissa - posted on 08/27/2012

Julie I also agree, you did the right thing, the weird thing about this is; Doing the right thing sometimes is the hardest thing to do -- I would love to hug you right now for what you did.

Melissa - posted on 08/27/2012

I would report it. Child abuse comes in so many forms - I am speaking if I know of a child who is being sexually abused/exploited or if a child is being beaten by either parent.

I happen to believe that sometimes, that 1 person can impact the rest of the childs life. walking away and pretending you don't know about it could mean a life time for that child of being abused or raped.

Speaking up against it means you could save that child for having a better life.

Regardless, if you say you are against child abuse - than the answer to this question is YES!

Julie - posted on 08/13/2012

Thanks Chrissyomari, I need to remember that :)

Christian - posted on 08/12/2012

So true! Its like you have to do the right thing in secret. BUT imagine how HORRIBLE it would have been for you and your son if that kid would have turned up dead. Now, at least you know you did what you could.

Julie - posted on 08/12/2012

My 9 year old had a freind @ school showing up with bruises. The kid told my son his dad beat him sometimes. My son was really upset and told me he felt bad for the kid. I said, you know you can tell someone if you want? He said, yeah I think I should. I let the home room teacher know. She stated the child was giving her other reasons for the marks, but he had been absent quite a bit lately and thanked me. She reported it to the police, anonymous as she is legally bound.
The cops went to the kids house, and spoke with his parents. However, the next day the kid approached my son angry, saying You almost got my parents arrested! My son was oust and blamed for the whole thing.
I was so upset! How did this kid know my son had anything to do with it? I emailed the teacher saying, Look my son only wanted to help, now he as well as myself, are fearing for his own safety! She swore no one knew it was u. After that my sons anxiety kicked in, he was ostracized from many of his peers, and very confused.
Lesson I learned was: Doing the right thing, is not as easy as it seems.

Christian - posted on 07/22/2012

This is a confusing question. What line? If I see child abuse, I would report it. It's annoyomous, so there is no reason to have a "line". If you're wrong, then the person will be investigated and its a minor inconvenience.



There was a time when I would have been cautious and just minded my business, but nowadays, there are too many stories about people who kidnap kids and hold them for years and normal looking parents who do horrific things to thier children.



I don't think there should be a line at all. My kid will scream bloody murder just because I tell him "no". If another parent reported that and I was investigated I would not be upset because I know that he's not abused and I would rather they report it. At least then, I know that if something happened to me and my kid was screaming his head off, they wouldn't ignore it. They would do something.



Now that I'm thinking of it, the only person I would be mad at for a "report" would be my ex because I know that he was doing it out of spite and being dishonest, but if someone believed that my child or a child was being abused, I think they should report it. No lines. Better safe than sorry.