Tag Archives: child abuse

Jesse James Says He was Abused as a Child

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Things just seem to be going from bad to worse for Jesse James. First, we learned that he cheated on Sandra Bullock, “America’s Sweetheart,” just days after she won her first Oscar. Then, the news came out that there were pictures circulating the Internet of James in Nazi apparel. As mistresses seemed to appear out of the woodwork, we find out that not only did James cheat on Sandra, but they had planned to adopted a baby no one knew about. Seriously, could it get any worse? Maybe. James admitted on “Nightline” last night that he had a reason for … Continue reading →

Angry Dad Uses Pizza to Punish Kid

A father in Florida may never look at pizza the same way again. Ditto for his kid. When the Domino’s guy shows up at your home with a half-pepperoni, half-sausage pizza, I’m pretty sure he’s not thinking his delivery is going to be used as a weapon. Ditto for the rest of the world. Not so much for a father from Florida. According to reports, a 38-year-old Gainesville dad was recently arrested for hitting his daughter with a pizza slice. (Yes, a slice of pizza!) Police say the man was charged with one count of child abuse without great harm, … Continue reading →

What Would You Not Forgive – Part 2?

Yesterday I told you of the discussion four of us had about what we would not forgive or would struggle to forgive. The other thing both of us the women in the group mentioned was domestic violence. I’d find it hard to live with a man who took out his frustration and anger on me in violent ways. You’d always be walking on eggshells wondering what next would set him off. I say he, because although abuse of husband by wives does happen, it is less common. With domestic violence there is often a pattern where the violent act is … Continue reading →

What Makes a Psychopath?

Recently, Josef Fritzl, the Austrian father who imprisoned his daughter Elisabeth in an underground enclosure and fathered all seven of her children, was sentenced to life imprisonment himself. Ironically he was to receive the same sentence that he had hoped to give to his child and grandchildren for many more years before being discovered by health authorities. Realistically, we will never know what drove this man to do this, or indeed other psychopaths to do what they do. Their behavior, by definition, goes beyond the norm and therefore becomes difficult for us to understand. But thee are characteristics that many … Continue reading →

It Makes You Think

I love TV shows and books that make me think. Last night we watched Boston Legal. Apart from the wacky sense of humor that permeates David E. Kelley shows, one of the reasons I like this show is because it is concerned with the law and makes me think. Legal shows always fascinate me. It also makes me think about things I might not otherwise think about. It may be only a TV script and not an actual case, but it’s enough to start the brain ticking over. Take the episode we watched where Alan Shore was to go before … Continue reading →

What’s Most Important?

Author Mem Fox has created a furor recently by declaring that putting infants in child care is tantamount to child abuse. Of course the comments received critical reaction from working mothers. Recently I was reviewing a book called Before your Teenager Drives you Crazy, Read this! Author, clinical psychologist and parenting expert from New Zealand, Nigel Latta said ‘who we are at 3 years of age is who we are at 26, and odds on at 56 and 86 as well.’ In other words, a child’s personality is shaped during those early years. Surely that should convince couples to make … Continue reading →

Munchausen Mum Escapes Jail Term

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So what happens to a mother when she is found to be suffering from Munchausen by proxy? As we learned in the previous articles on this puzzling condition, Munchausen by proxy or its alternate title, Factitious Disorder by proxy, is a condition whereby the legal guardian, usually the mother, deliberately harms her child in order to draw attention to herself. Such a mother usually presents herself as being very caring and loving towards her child. Because her child is so chronically ill, with a whole range of puzzling and perplexing sicknesses, and the mother is so devoted, she is often … Continue reading →

Celebrating Mother’s Day When You Don’t Like Your Mom

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You can’t miss the occasion of Mother’s Day. Advertisers refuse to let us. Wherever we turn we are bombarded with loving images of mothers and babies selling giftware from flowers to facials, and everything in between. But what happens if you don’t like your Mom? There is a huge societal rule that says “everyone loves their mom”. This is so imbedded in our psyche that to admit that you don’t actually like your mother often results in surprised looks, sounds of disbelief or even a lecture. “How could you not like your mother?” the naïve, lucky ones say. Sure, mothers … Continue reading →

Munchausen by Proxy: A Special Kind of Child Abuse

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We previously looked at the curious phenomena of Munchausen by Proxy (MBP) in the article of that name. Correctly known as Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy, or more simply, factitious disorder by proxy, it customarily involves a female parent or guardian who will use the illness of her child to draw attention to herself. However, it is the parent or guardian who actually makes the child sick, often by chemical means or even injecting urine into the child’s bloodstream in an attempt to cause infection. The parent thrives on the attention of her sick child, yet comes across as a very … Continue reading →

Crying Babies and the Possibilities for Abuse (2)

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We looked at the three types of crying in infants in our previous article as well as the established notion that adults actually find the sound of a baby crying aversive. Today we will look at ways that parents attempt to overcome their natural instincts towards the sound of babies crying, and the varying levels of success in doing so. One of the most useful preparations for successful parenting is exposure via babysitting to easy-to-soothe babies. Babies do not come out of the womb with cookie-cutter personalities as any experienced parent knows only too well. Psychologically speaking, babies can be … Continue reading →