Violence in Children Essay Sample

By the time a child has reached middle school, it is very likely that they have witnessed many acts of violence, perhaps without even knowing it. Researchers estimate that as many as 1 billion children between the ages of 2-17 have witnessed or experienced violence in some way. Violence has also affected my life in numerous ways. I’ve experienced and have known many people who have also experienced things such as child abuse, domestic violence, their parents having substance abuse issues, messy divorces, foster care mistreatment, bullying, self harm, and so many more things. My own friends and I have seen and experienced these things by the age of 13, and that’s way too young to be overly aware of the dangers in this world. Violence is much more common than many adults think. Most of the time, children don’t know what to do about the violence they have experienced. It weighs you down to have that type of trauma and it changes you as a person. Violence sucks the life out of children and makes them mature in an unhealthy way. My friends and I have all been affected in negative ways by these things, we unanimously never want others to go through the things we’ve gone through.

So many children are victims of violence, but what causes this in the first place? Most of the time, a child will have witnessed, become a victim of violence, or inflicted violence because of bad home environments or poor parenting. Too many parents allow themselves to become controlled by mind altering substances, allow bad people into their lives who eventually make their way into their children’s lives, or even think it’s acceptable to abuse their children because of their own mental issues. Bad parents affect children in a negative way and can lead to their children encountering or causing violence. People raised in these environmental conditions almost always end up having a mental illness later on in life, and mental illness is a very common cause of violence. Certain mental illnesses make it very difficult to clearly think and make decisions, and sometimes certain things may trigger a mentally ill individual into becoming violent. Nevertheless, it is never justifiable to hurt others because of a mental illness, it is not an excuse. Bullying and cyberbullying are also very common in most kids’ lives nowadays. Bullying could be the parents’ fault as well, although the child is responsible for their own actions, it is the parents’ job to teach their children that mistreating others is unacceptable.

So if violence is so common in so many lives, then what is there to do to prevent it? Most schools are trying to fight against this epidemic of violence and trauma by hosting presentations that are against it, but I think we need to take it a step further and actively listen for the ways children cry for help. Many kids are crying for help by literally having emotional breakdowns in class, failing school, behaving strangely, or acting out in disrespectful ways. We need to help our youth directly and recognize these signs. Some kids don’t want to talk about their past however, and we should provide resources for the child when they’re ready to talk about it or act on the issue. In school, bullying needs to be reported more and acknowledged. Strict punishment must be given to bullies, they need to be educated. As for victims of abuse, we need to educate all children on the signs of abuse and mental illness. If we get these victims the therapy and help they need, they’ll learn how to protect themselves and heal from their unfortunate situation. Other children and friends need to learn the signs of their friends potentially struggling so that they can help support them as well. If we give children education, therapy, and support then we will start to see change in the world. It needs to be normal to call out for help and our children need a shoulder to lean on when it seems like the whole world is against them.