Neglect
What is neglect?
When a grown up that is responsible for a child does not take care of the child. Could include not having a safe, stable place to live, enough food, electricity or running water, not having clothes for the kids, not taking them to the doctor or to school
Cleaning your room or picking up items that belong to child
Child Job
How often do you need to wash your body?
Once a day- rub the soap till there's bubbles, rub the bubbles in, then rinse them out!
What kind of therapy are we doing?
Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- the type of therapy most proven to help children who have been abused or neglected
What are the responsibilities of a child?
Go to school/ do homework, learn, play, help some around the house but not do all the house work
Cleaning up a shared space like living room, kitchen table
Can be child job
How often do you need to brush your teeth?
Ideally twice a day
What is trauma?
A distressing experience that someone's brain does not know how to process that usually leaves them with big feelings of fear, confusion, hurt, not feeling safe, anger, and sadness.
What are adult responsibilities that have children?
Provide and cook food, have safe place for the family to live, help children get to school and with their home work, teach children how to do chores, pay bills, provide kids with clothes, take children to the doctor when needed
Cleaning with harsh chemicals like bleach
Adult job, or teen job with adult monitoring
How often do you need to change your clothes (including underwear)?
Every day, but if you get very sweaty/dirty/soiled then you need to change into clean clothes as soon as possible
What are coping skills?
Things we can do that help us feel better if we have big feelings/something reminds us of our trauma.
Deep breathing, fidgets, moving your body, talking to a safe person, listening to music or playing a game
What are some reasons neglect happens?
The parent/responsible adult did not have enough resources; they had a mental health condition that prevented them from being able to take care of or provide for the child
Getting food, planning meals
Adult job- children can help pick things out or help prepare with an adult watching and guiding them
How often should you go to the doctor?
Whenever you are sick and not getting better or notice a major change, once a year to make sure you are growing and developing properly (well child visit)
What is PTSD?
Post traumatic stress disorder- when someone's brain is struggling after witnessing trauma with things like nightmares, avoidance of anything that reminds them of the trauma, high anxiety, flashbacks, etc. It can get a lot better and even go away with therapy!
How often does neglect happen?
Often! It is the main form of child maltreatment with over 100,000 NC children neglected in 2024
Paying bills, getting hygiene supplies, getting school supplies
Adult job
How often should you comb/brush/touch up your hair?
Every day
Why do we have to talk about hard things in therapy?
Addressing it makes the feelings around it eventually go away. It is hard to do, but the more trauma is avoided, the worse the thoughts and feelings about it get long term.