If you have children than you should always provide them with love and support. A safe environment is a must have for children anywhere in the word. They have to be and feel safe, far away from and type of violence, especially in their own homes where they should be surrounded by the people they love and who loves them fully. But as logical it might sound, this type of most would call ‘normal’ home environment is not provided to all children, many children in the world have to suffer from a lot pain as they live an environment that is far from safety and security.
There has been many studies and data to back up the fact that there are many incidents of violence that affects children all over the world, not only in school or outside their homes but also in their own home environment. Every year, there are thousands of reports on children all over the world that suffer from domestic violence. The problem is not many know that the impact of these type of violence on the children, specifically their mental state or mental health could and mostly last forever.
Family and home environment is very important for the growth of a child’s mental health. Children who are raised in a harmonious and happy family environment which are full with lover, respect, and support, tend to grow into a child that is strong and happy in living their lives. In the other side of the story, there many children who are not as lucky as their friends who have good family environment. They have deal with domestic violence in their household in regular basis.
The emergence of persistent conflict in the home environment of children will cause certain trauma for the children. The violence that is stated here does not always mean that the child is directly involved physically, but quarrels and fights between their parents or other members of the family also provide huge influence of the mental health of the child involved.
Another fact shows how domestic violence in children can lead to suicide during adulthood. A study conducted in Canada has proven this. The study was done on 22,500 adults in Canada. From the this study it was found that 17 percent of people who had suffered or have witnessed domestic violence during their childhood have a higher risk of committing suicide when the turn adult. While in the other hand, people who had a fairly happy childhood only have a 2 percent risk of suicide when they grow into adults.
The emergence of conflict in a family is something that is quite normal and would happen in any families all over the world. But thing will not be normal if the conflict happens continuously, and tension builds up to domestic violence which will cause trauma in children and will be brought until adulthood.
In another research that was conducted by UNICEF, it was also known that children who becomes victims of violence 40 percent of them came from families who had a history on domestic violence.
One thing that studies have found is that the brain development of children who has deal with domestic violence are affected in certain ways. This caused by the emotional stress that the children experience due to the violence they experience or witness.
Domestic violence have many negative effects on children who experience it. These children will become more prone to experience behavioral disorders throughout their childhood. Some examples of behavior disorders that the children may experience are difficulty in sleeping, irritability, fear of being alone, and impaired speech.
Not only that, domestic violence will have a huge effect on children’s ability do follow subjects in school. The more these children are exposed to domestic violence, the larger the chance for them to struggle and experience difficulty in concentrating and being able to focus. Hence, the poor results the get in school education.
Of course, not all children who experience domestic violence will be trapped and become a victim of their growth and affect their mental health as they grow up. Many of these children have strong will and mentality to come out, get up, and become strong healthy people as the grow up.
The need all the support they can get from other close friends and families around them. They need help from people they can trust to share and express their feelings and problems to help them overcome their trauma and become a much better person to face their future.