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Show HILL TOP TIMES Page 14 November 21, 1979 nnind the lect es at devasf i!eg By Teresa Weaver . Journalism Trainee "I can't wait to get home and show Mom what I made for her," Jason thought as he raced towards the house after turning the last comer on his way home from school. "Bet ;'. Mom never had a bowl like this before." "I'm home, Mom," he shouted as he pushed ' through the front door. "Look what I made for you in school! Bet you'll be proud of me." "How many times have I told you not to come home screaming like a little idiot?" his mother replied, shouting even louder than her son. "Do you think I tell you over and over again just to hear myself talk?" "I'm sorry, Mom. I just wanted to give. . . "I don't care what you wanted," she said, through clenched teeth, slamming the knife she was using to prepare dinner onto the counter. "There is no excuse for not remembering what you have been told. You're in kindergarten now and you're not a baby any more so you had better start listening to what I say or else," she yelled, shaking her finger nearly hitting the tip of his nose, causing him to move back just a little, while he stared up at his mother, wide eyed, wondering just what she was mad about this time. "Okay, Mom. I won't do it any more," he said, tears starting to shine in his eyes. "Why don't you go in your room and play or wait outside for your brother to come home. Just stop bothering me. You're always under my feet when I'm trying to do something," she scolded, turning her back and picking up the knife to finish dinner. "What ya doin' sitting under the tree by yourself?" Jason's brother asked. Although his brother, Kenny, is only two years older than Jason, the look on his brother's face told him that something was wrong. "What's the matter with you?" Kenny asked. Jason just looked toward the house. " "Is Mom in a bad mood again?" Kenny asked, his eyes following his brother's gaze. "I just wanted to give Mom the surprise I made for her in school and she yelled at me," Jason told his brother, looking at the ground and rubbing away the fresh tears that were threatening to spill down his cheeks. "Where is it?" Kenny asked, trying to console the hurt his brother felt "I want to see it." Both boys walked to where the bowl had been placed on the porch. Kenny picked it up and studied every small detail Jason had tried to mold into the clay. "This is really good," Kenny told his brother. "Mom will really like it after she cools off a little." With those words Jason grabbed the bowl from his brother and sent it crashing to the porch stairs. "I don't want to give it to her now. All she ever does is yell at me or tell me I'm in the way. Why should I give her anything?" Jason cried, no longer able to hold the tears which had been trying to push their way through ever since he had gotten home and first confronted his mother. Neglect Is abuse, too proud of his creativity, hurls his art to the stairs, shattering it to useless pieces A child, because he himself feels useless, unwanted and unloved. His sense of security and belonging is shattered like the art, because of the time it would take his. mother to acknowledge his accomplishment and the time he spent lovingly molding it just for her. How many times will his accomplishments be ignored before he stops trying to please anyone or determines that to display his achievements will only bring anger from others and then pain to himself and a sense of loss. - Declaration of the Rights of the Child 1. The right to affection, love and understanding. 2. The right to adequate nutrition and medical care. 3. The right to free education. 4. The right to full opportunity for play and recreation. 5. The right to a name and a nationality. 6. The right to special care, if handicapped 7. The right to be among the firsto receive relief in . - ;cf. Physically thoy aro e- Montally (US. Air forco Photo b PattlOoorgo) - . br y : - M"jBJ -- mwmmmm lllllllp jjgj mm ly M i;:f i tvriy i if mmmBmmm iiiiiiii mm fm m 1 tries at affection are continuously rejected? Mentally neglected children can react in several ways, pointed out the Mental Health team at USAF Hospital Hill. Some become withdrawn or shy away from ether children and may not eat properly. Others may show their emotional problem by fighting and getting into trouble or by aggression towards authoritative forms. . More drastic things can happen such as soiling or wetting their pants or becoming ill with no real physical cause. Minds also need care To neglect the needs of our children's minds can leave them brutally battered though there are no outward physical signs. Usually the signs go undetected until they children reach school age and the teacher realizes that ...V- mrnmmm ) ; ' fm And to" give with love? Will that also bring pain until he is no longer willing to share? How long will he be able to love when his own ') mmm V there is a problem. The parents are then contacted by the school and it is hoped that therapy for both the children and the parents can begin, the mental health staff said. Often parents are not aware that their children have emotional problems, because as children, they were neglected and therefore do not realize the need of their children for attention, affection and encouragement. Many people are not mentally prepared to become parents and begin their families too soon, the team said. They can also be so wrapped up in their own problems that they can forget that children have any needs other than physical ones. Listening to your children and trying to spend a little time with them each day can help prevent child neglect, they indicated. Some problems may be detected earlier so help can be provided before the child is severely emotionally troubled. Depression strikes the young "I am the biggest troublemaker in my family," said a . worried-lookin- g girl. . "I weird a cry a lot and feel lot." Between spells of crying, a boy said, "I think 1 am the stupidist kid in class .. . . I never really try to kill myself, but sometimes I think-tdrown myself." A dejected girl declared: "I feel ugly and like a dumbbell ; . . Sometimes I would like to kill my friends or my own stomach or arm . . . Friends make fun of me all the time." These children were talking to child psychiatrists at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). They were children or grandchildren of admitted ' patients had been referred by their doctor to the NIMH Intramural Research Program for observation and treatment of a depressive psychosis. More - than half were considered "overtly depressed" at the time of the interview. Though , the incidence of this disorder used to increase steadily with age, as a recent report points out, "the growing rate of depression in the young has brought about a peak period in youth that outstrips middle age and is exceeded only by the elderly." It also was found that many children diagnosed as hyperactive may actually be depressed., Indications of depression in children particularly when something has gone wrong at recently home, playground, or who . " school are quite common. Usually, though, these indications do not last long. The problem is judged to be de- pressive illness if it continues for at least several months "and is associated with severe impairment of the child's scholastic and social adjustment and with disturbances", in eating and sleeping. "In more serious cases the child's thinking is affected by feelings of despair and hopelessness, general retardation, and, in the severe form, by suicidal thoughts," theNIMH report states. ' The pediatrician or family physician is in the best position to detect early indications of childhood depression. Each knows the family's history relationand the parent-chil- d can the observe "and ship child directly for any sign of depressive mood and behavior." Also in a strategic position is the school or child guidance clinic. The doctor's role may be particularly valuable in suspected cases of masked depression, "in which the child is usually regarded by the family (and often by the school) as delinquent or lazy." For further information, write for "Causes, Detection, and Treatment of Childhood Depression," National Institute of Mental Health, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Md. 20857. times of disaster. 8. The right to learn to be a useful member of society and to develop individual abilities. 9. The right to be brought up in a spirit of peace and universal brotherhood. 10. The right to enjoy these rights, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, nation or social origin. This Declaration of the Rights of the Child was formed by the United Nations in 1959. The International Year of the Child, 1979, celebrates the 20th anniversary - of that recognition that children' are people, too. - By Patti George Watch me, Dad Sitting under the tree Watching dad coach the boys I wanted him to see me Prove I was better at their toys. Too many lonely days I'd practiced so hard, , Learning how to high jump All alone in the backyard Mom told dad last night "Hon, the girl is just too thin. I don't think she eats right." Dad said, "I think my team might win.' I waited for the moment They couldn't make that quarter inch And I flew over the bar "' What joy! It was a cinch. So I turned to my dad To see the proud look on his face, But it was contorted with anger Somehow, again, I'm his disgrace. Now that I'm older I wonder at the cost. I could have been good And his all male team lost. , |