Many children who are victims of day care abuse never speak up on their own. There is a host of reasons that this is the case. Most of them have to do with the abuser manipulating the child to try to cover up the abuse. Most often, it will take some work to get the truth out of the child. It also takes a great deal of skill and a clear head to make sure that you’re not accidentally coaching your child into confirming your worst fears instead of getting to the truth. Start by understanding why your child may not be talking.
- Shame: Many abusers shame their victims. For young children, there’s generally nothing more important than having the approval of the adults around them. If a child refuses to speak, it may be because they think the abuse is all their fault and that they’re embarrassed.
- Fear: Another common tactic of the abuser is to threaten the child into not speaking. These threats may be made against the child themselves, against their parents or even against their pets.
- Embarrassment: Some abuse is sexual in nature and, though children may not understand it, they’re still likely to be embarrassed that it happened to them. This is very tricky territory. Whenever you’re dealing with abuse of this sort, it’s best to seek the assistance of a professional to ensure that the child’s self-image is protected and rebuilt.
Abusers come in all shapes and sizes. They may be the caregivers or may be the custodians or food service staff. They may strike when the child is alone or they may verbally berate children in front of other staff whom they likely bully, as well. Anyone affected by this sort of abuse does have recourse.
The work of suing day care centers who fail to live up to their obligations falls on the shoulders of daycare child abuse attorneys. Like those who work as a daycare negligence or in other fields, they specialize in making sure that those responsible for exploiting children or harming them through action or inaction are held financially responsible. In some instances, these cases involve a lot of research and these lawyers specialize in finding those paper trails that lead to the truth and, ultimately, inform them who is to blame. Calling an attorney should be your first step if you suspect abuse.