Do children experience domestic violence?

Unfortunately many children do experience domestic violence. Many of us are lucky to have loving parents who support us and care for us, but some children do not have that and are sadly exposed to situations of domestic violence by their parents and/or caregivers. This can have a huge impact on the child, and the way they grow up and their development. It is very traumatic for children or anyone for that matter to experience domestic violence. No one should have to go through that and a child should certainly not have to grow up to believe that this is what a normal childhood is like. It should not hurt to be a child, but unfortunately it does happen a lot more than we think.

Yes, absolutely. There are a few different ways that this can happen; - the first one is that the child is in a family with domestic violence; i.e. a father hurts a mother and the child/children is a part of that - the second one is if only the child/children are abused.

Unfortunately, countless children experience domestic violence on a daily basis. It's sad, but many children grow up thinking that this treatment is normal and learn that it's not when it's already too late. I myself was abused from the time I was a baby until I was 10 years old. My mom had no idea, and I was too scared to tell her. This happens to so many innocent children, and it's hard to make a change when we don't even know it's happening. I wish that there was a way to change this cruel way of life, but unfortunately there's no way to monitor every family closely enough while still preserving their privacy. We just have to urge those struggling with this to come forward.

Studies show that 3-4 million children are at risk of domestic violence every year. Children who are exposed to this type of trauma become fearful and anxious. They are walking on eggshells almost. Waiting for the next occurrence to happen. Children will keep it a secret because that's what is expected of them. They put on this front like everything is okay on the outside but deep down they are in a lot of pain. They usually blame themselves for the abuse. They deal with the emotions of anger, rage, embarrassment, depression, fear, shame, guilt, sadness, and sleep disturbances. And even feel worthless and powerless.