Check out this article I found on recognizing verbal and emotional abuse: http://decodedscience.com/identifying-signs-of-emotional-and-verbal-abuse-in-kids/16438
It is an important topic and needs to be addressed seriously. However, I am actually concerned by the proposal in this article to place more of an assessment responsibility on pediatricians. Pediatricians are not meant to be trained social workers and it is unrealistic to assume that they can handle this additional responsibility on top of their other work with families. As a Parent Education Specialist, I am aware that pediatricians are often asked for parenting advice and generally rely on misinformation. Pediatricians do not receive ANY training on parenting theories, research or techniques. In their training, the pediatricians I work with have over 20 specialties they focus on during residency. We cannot and should should expect them to add parent education and now social work to their repertoire. There are professionals in these fields who are competent and should be utilized as resources for families. Yes, we do need more assessment for recognizing emotional child abuse! We also need more resources for support and education for EVERY parent to help proactively address risk factors in new parents and work with parents before things become larger problems. We need more ways for parents to feel "safe" seeking the help that they need before things get out of control (criminalizing poor parenting choices is not always the best solution for families). What we need most is for parent education professionals and social workers to be present in-house at pediatric offices and other health care facilities (and businesses) that serve families. Let's collaborate so we can truly empower parents instead of asking one set of professionals to "do it all."
It is an important topic and needs to be addressed seriously. However, I am actually concerned by the proposal in this article to place more of an assessment responsibility on pediatricians. Pediatricians are not meant to be trained social workers and it is unrealistic to assume that they can handle this additional responsibility on top of their other work with families. As a Parent Education Specialist, I am aware that pediatricians are often asked for parenting advice and generally rely on misinformation. Pediatricians do not receive ANY training on parenting theories, research or techniques. In their training, the pediatricians I work with have over 20 specialties they focus on during residency. We cannot and should should expect them to add parent education and now social work to their repertoire. There are professionals in these fields who are competent and should be utilized as resources for families. Yes, we do need more assessment for recognizing emotional child abuse! We also need more resources for support and education for EVERY parent to help proactively address risk factors in new parents and work with parents before things become larger problems. We need more ways for parents to feel "safe" seeking the help that they need before things get out of control (criminalizing poor parenting choices is not always the best solution for families). What we need most is for parent education professionals and social workers to be present in-house at pediatric offices and other health care facilities (and businesses) that serve families. Let's collaborate so we can truly empower parents instead of asking one set of professionals to "do it all."
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