How Children Are Affected When They Witness Domestic Violence.
Everyone in the family, even the kids, is affected by domestic violence. When there is violence in the family, children live where they are always afraid. Children who see violence in the home are involved in the same ways as physically abused children. If your home is violent, your kids are more likely to be used or neglected.
Here are some first things that happen to children when they see their parents fighting:
Anxiety:
If one parent is constantly abused by the other, the child will likely stay on edge. These kids will wait with bated breath for the next time someone might hurt them physically or verbally at home. This can make people feel anxious all the time.
Children in school can become mean and may have trouble dealing with the abuse they’ve seen. Most of the time, these kids think they are to blame for their parent’s abuse, which can hurt their self-worth.
PTSD:
Children who see their parents fight can get post-traumatic stress disorder . This can cause nightmares, trouble sleeping, anxiety, being more aware of your surroundings, difficulty focusing, and even physical symptoms. Complex PTSD can happen if the caretaker mistreats the child repeatedly when they are young.
Signs and symptoms:
Children who live with parents who fight a lot have a lot of physical problems as a result. When the violence is at its worst, and a child tries to stop it, you would think that the parents would control themselves to protect their child. However, statistics show that this is not the case. People say that about half of the people who hurt others also hurt their children. Another scary fact is that people who are in abusive relationships are less likely to be violent with their kids. The violence done to these kids can sometimes put their lives in danger. If the mother is pregnant during the abuse, the unborn child could be hurt for life or even die.
Abuse of the body
Most of the time, children who see domestic violence at home can have a lot of physical symptoms along with sad feelings and actions. Some of these kids may have headaches or stomach-aches, among other aches and pains. They may also have irritable bowels and bowel movements that aren’t familiar, cold sores, and trouble staying dry at night. There have been links between these complaints and depression in children, a common emotional effect of domestic violence. Along with these general complaints of not feeling well, children who see domestic violence may also look nervous and have a short attention span, as was already mentioned. These kids have some of the same signs as kids with ADHD .
On the other hand, these children may always show signs of being tired. If they don’t get enough sleep at home, they might fall asleep at school. They may spend much of their night watching violence at home. Children hurt by domestic violence are often sick and may not take care of themselves well. Children who see domestic violence are more likely to play in dangerous ways, hurt themselves, or kill themselves.
Aggressive Behaviour:
When teenagers see domestic violence, they often act out it as a way to deal with it. They might get into fights, skip school, do risky sexual things, or try drugs and alcohol. Also, these teens are likely to get into trouble with the law.
Conclusion:
Domestic violence can leave lasting marks on both the people who are directly hurt and those who are hurt indirectly. Domestic violence can cause mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Getting the proper care from a mental health professional can help children deal with these effects. Therapy can also help people deal with the stress and trauma of living in a toxic environment.
