But that's child abuse!

As someone who was seriously abused as a child, I heartily agree with you. Accusing every parent who looks at their kid wrong of child abuse keeps children who are really in abusive situations from getting the help they need because no one takes the topic seriously enough anymore.

Teaching children to cry abuse over nothing makes it so if they are actually abused no one will listen. I've heard teachers, doctors, and other professionals that have to report child abuse voice the same opinions. If every single kid says their parents are abusing them because the media has taught them that this silly little thing or that silly little thing is abuse, no one know which situations to actually investigate.

Frankly, I'm a little terrified of being accused of child abuse. I know I would never do anything to harm my child, but there are so many topics on which people disagree, and for any one of them someone could accuse you of abuse. And even worse than the legal ramifications of this, there's the fact that your child could grow up to actually believe you abused them, just because someone told them that some aspect of your parenting methods was wrong.

*shudders* Sorry for the rant, but this is obviously a subject on which I have very strong feelings and opinions.

This is very true! It gets more and more stupid by the second it seems. There are things parents just shouldn't do ethically and morally to a child, which are the things that no one would say "it's okay!" such as beating a child or burning him with a cigarette but those are givens! Then there are things that mothers should do but sometimes can't or don't want to, such as breastfeeding (I say can't because some mothers just don't produce enough milk for their babies), then their are things that parents should do, if it's needed, such as timeouts and spankings, if the child is so disobedient that it affects their life! A spanking is a spanking, but a beating is a beating...some parents don't know the difference and that's when someone should cry child abuse about them!

This falls under my favorite category:
People need to mind their own business
...don't jump my case here, if a child is being beaten, molested or starved, that's abuse. Other than that, people need to tend to their own kids and their own "closets."
Just my 10 cents.

i am a mom of 4 kids, and its really hard to raise kids specially if you always rely on what other people will be saying. you can no longer raise them the way you think is best specially when neighbors or relatives are so nossy or bossing around. for me its more abusive to kids if you always codemn the parents of abusing. they are really abusive parents out there (and i mean a lot). who leave their kids hungry but the parents are out partying all night. who hits their kids with no reason at all and thats child abuse. who call their kids names and humiliate their kids in public then thats child abuse. and i agree with you if they always cries out like the boy who cried wolf people will get used to it then when the real trouble comes along nobody will care.

I think what also makes it harder is when the child claims child abuse just because the child does not like a situation.
I have heard many cases where the child will claim abuse to either get out of trouble or to cause trouble to the parent to get the upper hand.
Which is very sad! Then the parent can not parent due to fear that the child will try to yell child abuse.
Then there are complete strangers out in public that have to stick their nose in your business! It has gotten to the point that I will have to walk my child out of the store before I even say anything. But on the flip side, for others that see me ignore the child and walk the child out think that I do not know how to parent!
Now...the best thing is...stay home! LOL
But wait...then that could be abuse because the child never gets out o the house besides school and playing in the backyard.
*sigh* It has become a sad sad world!

It is fear of the rampant 'child abuse' alarms going off that I think is contributing to the lack of any kind of discipline on children who a obviously out of control.

When someone is afraid to correct their child because someone might call the cops, its time to reassess the way child abuse is reported and for what reason. I am old enough to have been a kid who was in danger of being spanked in school for infractions and knew if it happened I'd be facing the same or worse once I got home. Beating me near bloody with a belt was not called child abuse when my mother did it. My father tried to protect my sister and I but back then, if he'd sought a divorce the court would have likely have given us to the abuser anyway. He was also suffering from spousal abuse, but again Back Then, they didn't recognize a man as being abused.

We go from one extreme to the other and its sad. Really sad.

I love this post! First, I have heard a foster child from a family explaining to our pastor's son:"My parents will let me do such and such, and if they don't, I will call SRS (child protective services) and say they are abusing me." (I was transporting them in a bus as a volunteer, at the time, and they were sitting right behind me.) The best experts in the world on any subject are the ones who have no experience in the field. I know I am not an expert. I have had some pretty angry thoughts about some things. I have heard people "getting even" with each other in relationships by playing the Child abuse card. I am enjoying the responses you have received so far.

I think children and family services would laugh at most of those things that people are using as an excuse to cry child abuse about.I do know what you mean though about the petty things getting investigated and the serious stuff being overlooked.
Stephanie

I agree with you. The media/public eye stick their noses too far in other people's business constantly. And sadly we as parents cannot raise our children often times the way we feel the need to. Anymore, discipline means child abuse and it seems the organizations (local law enforcement, protective services, etc.) agree with this too! I was spanked as a child, and I feel it did me well, and as you can guess my children are disciplined the same way if necessary. A very true statement you had mentioned too-the real children will be ignored when they need the help. The fine line between discipline and abuse-what is it, people are more concerned with time outs than a child with broken bones form an abusive hand? Yeah, this system needs some help and a lot of work....Excellent post.

That is really true. I hear that a lot myself even though I'm not a parent. I disagree with a lot of the way children are raised but I don't cry child abuse. I might not like it and wouldn't raise my children that way but at the same time I keep my mouth shut and complain about it to my husband. LOL