Classmate, let's chat: abuse

Author: [USA] Murphy
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: Middle school life has more challenging academics and more issues than ever before: developing learning skills, understanding relationships with parents, making new friends, establishing consumer values, adapting to physical development, facing social phenomena, and handling various social relationships... These are all parts of the busy middle school life. If middle school students are compared to trees growing, each book in this series is like a magnified branch that the tree might grow during its development, offering related advice. The quality of how these branches are pruned directly affects whether the tree can grow healthily. Adults such as parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and teachers represent authority and safety in the eyes of children, so children trust them. However, what should we do when adults betray this trust? Sometimes, parents' "advice" turns into beating or cursing; sometimes, aunts and uncles' "affectionate" actions make you feel uncomfortable; some parents overprotect their children but never give them opportunities to be independent; some parents are too busy with their own lives and neglect their children for long periods; some children, feeling unloved by their parents, vent their emotions and grievances at every opportunity. This book analyzes various common forms of abuse and their negative impacts on adolescents, including clarifying misunderstandings about "abuse," defining physical abuse, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse, and encouraging self-help and mutual support among teenagers. The experiences of several American middle school students who endured abuse and eventually found relief vividly illustrate these issues. Although the book describes American social phenomena, it offers lessons for our adolescents—helping them at least when they find themselves in difficult relationships with adults and preparing them for encountering "wolves in sheep's clothing." Moreover, it raises awareness that abuse not only includes actions that cause children to feel pain but also excessive care that children may not consciously perceive but has a significant subconscious impact. Because all forms of abuse deprive adolescents of genuine human care, their wounded psychological state may become an obstacle to success when they enter society.