Neglect is characterized by failure to provide for the child’s basic needs. Neglect can be physical, educational, or emotional. Neglect causes almost as many child deaths as other types of abuse.

Physical neglect includes refusal of or delay in seeking health care, driving with the child while intoxicated, abandonment, expulsion from the home or refusal to allow a runaway to return home, and inadequate supervision. Physical neglect can severely impact a child’s development by causing failure to thrive; malnutrition; serious illness; physical harm in the form of cuts, bruises, burns or other injuries due to the lack of supervision; and a lifetime of low self-esteem.

Educational neglect includes the allowance of chronic truancy, failure to enroll a child of mandatory school age in school, and failure to attend to a special educational need. Educational neglect can lead to the child failing to acquire basic life skills, dropping out of school or continually displaying disruptive behavior.

Emotional neglect includes such actions as marked inattention to the child’s needs for affection, refusal of or failure to provide needed psychological care, spouse abuse in the child’s presence, and permission of drug or alcohol use by the child. A pattern of this parental behavior can lead to the child’s poor self-image, substance abuse, destructive behavior (such as self-injury) and even suicide.

There is a distinction between a parent’s inability to provide the needed care based on cultural norms or the lack of financial resources and a parent’s knowing reluctance or refusal to provide care and love.

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Abuse - Physical Abuse

Sexual Abuse - Emotional Abuse

Teen Dating Violence - Help and Support

More Information on Neglect

Child Neglect: A Guide for Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention ~ This manual covers in depth the definition of 'neglect', causes, impact, and prevention and intervention strategies.
Child Neglect: Its Causes and Role in Delinquency (pdf) ~ The more interest a parent shows in a child, the more a parent gets involved with a child, the more a parent supervises a child, and the more warmth and affection a parent shows a child, the less likely the child is to become involved in delinquency.
Child Neglect and Abandonment State Statutes (pdf) ~ The following is a list of state statutes criminalizing child neglect and abandonment. Not all states define child neglect and abandonment in the same manner. All states have some form of statute criminalizing the underlying facets of neglect and abandonment, except the state of Maryland.
Neglect in Childhood ~ In the past, the consequences of child neglect were not considered to be as severe as the consequences of other forms of maltreatment (e.g., physical or sexual abuse). Research and clinical experience tell us this is not so. Indeed, neglect in early stages of life may lead to severe, chronic and irreversible damage.
Release from the Bondage of Rejection (pdf) ~ Self-rejection can have devastating effects on your life. When you internalize the cruel words and rejection of certain people and believe their lies about you, it can wound you deeply. You begin to think that everyone view you the way that they do -- even God. Yet, it is bondage and you must break free of it
Tackling Child Neglect: David Howe explains the importance of understanding child development ~ Fully understanding the development needs of young children can alert us to the damaging risk of neglect.
Toxic Childhoods ~ Angry, cold families produce sick kids who may become sick adults.
The Tragedy of Child Neglect ~ Neglect accounts for two-thirds of the 3 million reports made to child protective services annually in the United States. That's the tip of the iceberg.
What is Child Neglect? ~ The most common type of child abuse is neglect, which accounts for 63% of all substantiated child abuse cases.

The Shelter of Each Other: Rebuilding Our Families

by Mary Pipher

Mary Pipher offers ideas for simple actions we can all take to heal, restore, and rebuild our families, and to strengthen our communities.