Child neglect

Child neglect is a form of child abuse, and is a deficit in meeting a child's basic needs, including the failure to provide adequate health care, supervision, clothing, nutrition, housing as well as their physical, emotional, social, educational and safety needs. Society generally believes there are necessary behaviors a caregiver must provide in order for a child to develop physically, socially, and emotionally. Causes of neglect may result from several parenting problems including mental disorders, substance abuse, domestic violence, unemployment, unplanned pregnancy, single parenting, and poverty.

Child neglect depends on how a child and society perceives the parents’ behavior; it is not how parents believe they are behaving towards their child. Parental failure to provide for a child, when options are available, is different from failure to provide when options are not available. Poverty and lack of resources are often contributing factors and can prevent parents from meeting their children's needs, when they otherwise would. The circumstances and intentionality must be examined before defining behavior as neglectful.

Child neglect is the most frequent form of child abuse, with children born to young mothers at a substantial risk for neglect. In 2008, the U.S. state and local Child Protective Services (CPS) received 3.3 million reports of children being abused or neglected. Seventy-one percent of the children were classified as victims of child neglect ("Child Abuse & Neglect"). Maltreated children were about five times more likely to have a first emergency department presentation for suicide related behavior, compared to their peers, in both boys and girls.

Children permanently removed from their parental home because of substantiated child abuse, are also at an increased risk of a first presentation to the emergency department for suicide related behavior. Neglected children are at risk of developing lifelong social, emotional and health problems, particularly if neglected before the age of two years.

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