Raising Happy Healthy Children: What is Child Neglect & Neglectful Parenting?

Parenting is a very important job. There are many, many things that parents must be responsible. Although it is not easy we as parents do what we have to do to meet both our responsibilities as parents and also our children's needs.

Sometimes though there comes along a child whose needs are not being met. A child whose parents has neglected to care for them properly and has been a neglectful parent. Sometimes people with children do not do all of the things they need to do, like supervise, for example.

Neglectful parenting includes the following: Not supervising, not putting forth an effort to help their children learn, not adequately disciplining, not properly feeding children, and not behaving themselves in a way a parent should.

Supervision is the number one most important thing a parent can do to keep their children safe. When supervision is not adequate children get hurt, or worse, abused. Parents should never, ever allow children to be left in the care of other children. Parents should also never allow their children to be left in the care of anyone who has previously harmed children, or who is not trustworthy. That is setting your kids up for trouble. Parents should supervise well to ensure that their children ore okay, and safe. So much abuse and so many injuries could be prevented if only parents were supervising a little more closely.

Neglectful parenting can also pertain to a child's education. Parents need to try their best to be as involved as possible in their child's home work routine and schooling. When parents do not pay attention to the papers that come home they miss out on important information. When parents don't know what's going on in school there may be problems. Neglectful parenting regarding education also refers to allowing children to miss to much time from school. Never keep kids home to go shopping or to the park. Keeping them home when they are actually sick makes them miss enough important time in school as it is. Save the fun stuff for weekends of after school. Parents can be charged with neglectful parenting if their children miss too much time from school without good reason.

When parents fail to discipline their children it is also a form of neglect. When child break rules the rules need to be gently and positively reinforced. It is a parents job to discipline their children. Say your child is being a bully to another smaller child at school. It is your job as a parent to get them to stop, not the schools. The school steps in if your child does not stop but if you are doing nothing at home to try to remedy the problem or if you are feeding the problem you are being a neglectful parent.

Children both love to and need to eat. Not properly feeding children is yet another form of neglectful parenting. Children need fresh fruits and plenty of vegetables. They need parents who limit their intake of fatty or junk foods and soda. Allowing your child to not eat healthy is neglectful parenting. I know that you can't make a child eat something they don't want to. That's not the point. The pint is it's your job as a parent to serve your children healthy foods, often enough, routinely, etc. Keeping consistent meal and snack times and providing healthy foods is the right way to feed your kids. Skipping meals or offering foods that are not healthy as meals is neglectful parenting.

As sad as it is, and I know this is true, there are some parents who are more concerned with themselves and their own feelings and life to consider how their children are doing and what they are feeling. When you put your own needs before your children you are being neglectful of your children's needs. When you are considering how you feel and what you want rather than how your child feel you are being neglectful. When you make bad choices about your own life you are neglecting to teach your child to make good choices about their own lives by setting a poor example. Neglectful parenting has many aspects. Try your best to put your children first, feed them well, talk them through problems and such. Take good care of your children, neglect nothing. Try your best to meet their needs and to be responsible. Just so long as you are trying to be the best parent you can be you are certainly not a neglectful parent. They are the ones who aren't even bothering to try. Take care and thanks for reading!