PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — On Monday, December 7th, University of St. Martin’s EDU 418 class taught by Ms. Patti Maier, hosted a lecture on “Child Abuse” at the University of St. Martin. This, being a very common and also delicate topic in our everyday lives, two esteemed speakers were able to equip the audience with their broad knowledge in this area. Ms. Aisheline Maduro, a psychologist, and Ms. Hollis Park, a nurse, both spoke on the normal physical growth and abnormal behavior of children between the ages of 3-12.
Something that Ms. Aisheline Maduro pointed out, is that the way of scolding children in the Caribbean is by “giving them licks.” Now, although Ms. Maduro prefers the method of teaching the child the correct form of behavior, her advice is that if you are going to correct your child in your way, be sure that you are not angry when correcting your child.
The two speakers also went deep into the different types of abuse, the signs to look for in the case of if a child is being abused, and how to address the situation immediately before it gets worse.
The different forms of abuse that were mentioned were:
- Neglect
- Physical
- Sexual
- Verbal/Mental & Emotional
This has been happening and is still happening everyday to our children and parents and adults are getting away with it. The marks may disappear, but the pain and the mental state that the children are left with for the rest of their lives is much more heartbreaking. Whether you are a neighbor, a teacher, a stranger or a family member, if you know of a child that is being abused, take the opportunity to speak up.
