NAT’L CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH

Mark 10:14 (The Message)

 ^13-16The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them.

 

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and we can see according to the above passage of scripture, that children are extremely important to Jesus.  He died for us all but He said “children” are at the very center of life in the kingdom of God.  He gathered them up in His arms and blessed them.  They hold a special place in the heart of God. 

Yet, so many of our children are being hurt on a daily basis.  Child Abuse is divided into four types:  physical, sexual, emotional, and neglect.  Any child at any age may experience any or all of these types of abuse.  We ALL have the responsibility to protect and defend these children.  There are several ways to help.  If you think a child is being abused; take immediate action. 

I am a survivor of child abuse.  I’ll never forget the person that tried to rescue me.  Unfortunately, it was after the abuse had occured but, because of her intervention the abuse was exposed.  Her name was “Christine Washington” and I honor her memory today with this post.  If she had remained silent (believe me, I know it takes courage to get involved) everyone around me probably would have continued to ignore the situation. 

Jesus doesn’t want us to ignore the pain and sufferings of children.  He wants us to bring them to Him.  We can do that by rescuing a child in danger.  And there are many ways of doing it.  Contact the Nat’l Child Abuse Hotline for more information:   (1-800-422-4453). 

PRAYER FOCUS:  Father, help us to be strong in the face of possible danger.  It is our responsibility to protect all children.  We ask you to protect the children we are aware of that are experiencing abuse today.  Help us all Father to be strong and courageous until the abuse can be stopped.  IN JESUS’ NAME, AMEN.  

  

RECOGNIZING CHILD ABUSE: 

The Child:

· Has learning problems that cannot be attributed to specific physical or psychological causes:

· Is always watchful, as though preparing for something bad to happen;

· Lacks adult supervision;

· Is overly compliant, an overachiever, or too responsible; or

· Comes to school early, stays late, and does not want to go home.  

The Parent:

information, for conferences, or for home visits;

· Denies the existence of — or blames the child for — the child’s problems in school or at home;

· Asks the classroom teacher to use harsh physical discipline if the child misbehaves;

· Sees the child entirely bad, worthless, or burdensome;

Demands perfection or a level of physical or academic performance the child cannot achieve; o

 

· Looks primarily to the child for care, attention, and satisfaction of emotional needs

The Parent and Child: 

 

· Rarely touch or look at each other;

· Consider their relationship entirely negative; or

State that they do not like each other 

SIGNS OF PHYSICAL ABUSE

Consider the possibility of physical abuse when the child:

 

· Has unexplained burns, bites, bruises, broken bones, or black eyes;

· Has fading bruises or other marks noticeable after an absence from school;

· Seems frightened of the parents and protests or cries when it is time to go home from school;

· Shrinks at the approach of adults; or

· Reports injury by a parent or another adult caregiver.

Consider the possibility of physical abuse when the parent or other adult caregiver 

 

· Offers conflicting, unconvincing, or no explanation for the child’s injury;

· Describes the child as “evil,” or in some other very negative way;

· Uses harsh physical discipline with the child; or

· Has a history of abuse as a child.

SIGNS OF NEGLECT

Consider the possibility of neglect when the child: 

 

· Is frequently absent from school;

· Begs or steals food or money from classmates;

· Lacks needed medical or dental care, immunizations, or glasses;

· Is consistently dirty and has severe body odor;

· Lacks sufficient clothing for the weather;

· Abuses alcohol or other drugs; or

· States there is no one at home to provide care.

Consider the possibility of neglect when the parent or other adult caregiver: 

 

· Appears to be indifferent to the child;

· Seems apathetic or depressed;

· Behaves irrationally or in a bizarre manner; or

Is abusing alcohol or other drugs

 

SIGNS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

Consider the possibility of sexual abuse when the child: 

 

· Has difficulty walking or sitting;

· Suddenly refuses to change for gym or to participate in physical activities;

· Demonstrates bizarre, sophisticated, or unusual sexual knowledge or behavior;

· Becomes pregnant or contracts a venereal disease, particularly if under age fourteen;

· Runs away; or

· Reports sexual abuse by a parent or another adult caregiver.

Consider the possibility of sexual abuse when the parent or other adult caregiver:  

 

· Is unduly protective of the child, severely limits the child’s contact with other children,

especially of the opposite sex;

· Is secretive and isolated; or

· Describes marital difficulties involving family power struggles or sexual relations.

SIGNS OF EMOTIONAL MALTREATMENT

Consider the possibility of emotional maltreatment when the child: 

 

· Shows extremes in behavior, such as overly compliant or demanding behavior, extreme

passivity or aggression;

· Is either inappropriately adult (parenting other children, for example) or inappropriately

infantile (frequently rocking or head-banging, for example);

· Is delayed in physical or emotional development;

· Has attempted suicide; or

· Reports a lack of attachment to the parent.

Consider the possibility of emotional maltreatment when the parent or other adult caregiver: 

 

· Constantly blames, belittles, or berates the child;

· Is unconcerned about the child and refuses to consider offers of help for the child’s school

problems; or  · Overtly rejects the child.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Administration for Children and Families

Administration on Children, Youth and Families

Children’s Bureau

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did Juanita Bynum do the Right Thing?

On the homepage and “GREETINGS” page of the site here, there is a link to the Juanita Bynum & husband, Bishop Weeks brouhaha where he was on trial for violently assaulting her in a parking lot last year. There was a media circus about this with many revelations about the violence and sordid behavior in the marriage.  According to the article about the outcome of the trial, she was pressured by his grandfather to write a letter to the court asking for leniency in sentencing him. She wrote it and he got of very lightly. 

I think Juanita is in need of much spiritual and emotional healing. It’s ironic that she is a prophetess, but is not spiritually well.  In my opinion, she is definitely in no position to try to preach to or teach other women how how to conduct themselves in a relationship with their mate.  Primarily, she needs to work on her own healing and realize her VALUE, which she obviously doesn’t know.  When a woman realizes her value, she doesn’t allow a man to mistreat her repeatedly.  This is the main reason why this site is named “BEVALUED,” because we want women to focus a lot more on their value and learn to place a high value on themselves.  Jesus affirmed the value of women and in his teachings, we can see that he considered women and men as equals!  Yet many people in the society still come up with all kinds of reasons, explanations, and excuses for men who beat and mistreat women. Lots of pressure is put on women sometimes to forgive men for assaulting them or not press charges against the men.  No wonder Juanita and other women continue to let the men escape the punishment they deserve.

 Why does Juanita feel it’s okay for her to be any man’s punching bag? I believe it’s only a matter of time before he beats her again, but I hope I’m wrong.   According to articles I read about Bishop Weeks, this is not the first time he has physically attacked Juanita and he even attacked one of the female employees at their big church according to another article I read.  According to that article, this female employee was paid not to press charges.

I think there are many lessons for women to learn from the violence in this relationship. One of the many questions that comes to mind is: Were they equally yoked? I ask this because she was far more famous than he was when they met and this may have caused him to be jealous of her success.  What are some other lessons we can learn from this relationship?