As part of the Abu Dhabi Police's "Family Cohesion and Safety" campaign

Social worker: Child neglect is a “genetic problem”

Abu Dhabi Police reviewed the types of child neglect, its causes and effects, and the proposed solutions to avoid neglect, in a virtual council entitled "Be sure to take care of him" as part of the "Family Cohesion and Safety" campaign, implemented by the Department of Social Support Centers in the Community Security Sector.

Specialist Razana Fahd Al Ahbabi, from the Social Support Center in Al Ain, explained that the causes of child neglect are hereditary, meaning that the parents or the child caretaker have suffered cruelty from their relatives and have dropped these behaviors on the child, and because of the parents' ignorance of the parental skills used in raising the child, or Parents are not aware of the basic rights and duties of the child as stipulated in the laws that protect the child from any harm.

She pointed out that the neglected child is subjected to several types of neglect, namely: physical neglect, which is represented in being beaten, ignored and left alone without supervision, being malnourished and not providing the necessary health care, leaving him in dangerous places without supervision, and not taking care of his personal hygiene, which makes him Vulnerable to diseases, emotional neglect through the practice of parents wrong actions, such as beating and cursing, calling him obscene without taking into account his feelings and belittling him in front of others, exploiting him by transmitting negative messages between parents during their differences, suppressing him and holding him responsible for differences between spouses, and neglecting his need for love and dialogue.

She pointed out that educational and moral neglect is represented in neglecting the necessary guidance and counseling for the child, not following up on his academic level, and not encouraging him to achieve good and continuous achievement.

Finally, sexual neglect, which is represented in not being aware of how to protect himself if he is sexually harassed, and leaving him to follow what he wants on social media channels without censorship, which reinforces his wrong sexual desires.

She referred to the effects of child neglect, namely: physical and physical diseases, wounds, burns, fractures, abuse, obesity, excessive thinness and exposure to disability due to falls.

There are psychological effects, such as violence against oneself, psychological disorders, depression, sadness, stuttering, involuntary urination, and social effects such as personality weakness, hatred, desire for revenge, social shame, voluntary silence, and a sense of indifference, and finally, the moral educational effects of poor academic achievement, lack of responsibility, failure to act in a polite manner, and equality of behavior. Good behavior is bad for the loss of reprimand and punishment.

Al-Ahbabi made proposals to avoid neglect, namely, parents’ awareness of the extent of the danger posed to children, whatever form of neglect, self-accountability and a sense of responsibility towards their children, increasing their educational skills by enrolling in social educational courses, keenness to inculcate moral principles in them, and seeking help from experts if needed. It is for advice on educational problems that children may be exposed to, to raise awareness of local and international laws for the child, to identify the most important basic principles in them, to create a family atmosphere that is coherent as much as possible and to take into account the child’s psychology, and to try to satisfy the child’s needs with love and continuous kindness, and continuous dialogue between parents about the child.