Child abuse

From RationalWiki

This is a from a serious anti-abuse colouring book produced by the RC diocese of New York^[1]

(first, see also Child sexual abuse)

Child abuse is defined as the ill-treatment of children under the care of those who should provide for them properly.

There are, sadly, many forms of child abuse, some intentional and some not. These include:

Physical abuse.
Sexual contact with children.
Leaving children alone without resort to competent adult supervision.
Not providing adequate nutrition.
Not providing adequate shelter or clothing.
Neglecting children for the internet.^[2]
Putting children in situations where they are obliged to witness scenes of adult violence.
Forcing children to lie about important matters.
Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (MSbP), because of which the parent forces the child to become sick, usually through the ingestion of pills or the injection of feces.

Some members of RationalWiki also think there are other forms of child abuse, which can be equally crippling to the child and equally bad for the society in which it occurs. These include:

Denying the child access to facts about the world they live in.
Telling the child lies about the nature of other people.
Refusing to expose the child to ideas outside a small range.
Indoctrinating the child in religious (or atheistic, or political) mythology.
Frightening children by telling them they will be punished eternally by a supernatural being if they don't follow certain rules.
Telling the child that their race, religion, or country is intrinsically better than all others.
Generating a sense of guilt in children in respect of natural sexual development.
Telling a child what to think rather than teaching a child how to think.
Enrolling the child in any course taught by Andrew Schlafly or Ed Poor.