I don't understand this

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Last edited by ocdgirl123 on 03 Jun 2012, 11:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Bruises associated with falling are more typical to the arms and legs. Although it is possible for a child to fall on their face and bruise themselves, falls to the face typically result more in scratches instead of bruises, and those who abuse their children physically are likely to hit them or slap them in the face (as well as everywhere else). Also, most people tend to assume the worse, since their mind seeks sensation, and trauma is more sensational than the vernacular.

The wise thing to do, of course, would be to admit that one cannot truly determine the origin of an abrasion of any sort simply on the basis of inference. People are not always wise, however.

When I played football, I had a lot of bruises on my arms and legs, and I remember several times being asked if I was abused at home.

I'd most likely assume that they were hit and were being bullied. I'd also assume it was by someone around their own age.

I didn't vote on the poll (sorry) because there isnt an option for this.

Well if it's on the face I always have my suspicions but I don't act on them unles I have reasonable cause to. It also depends on how well I know the child and their family...what kind of background they have. It also depends where on the face, etc. As an ECE one of my top priorities is to look out for children but I don't act unles I have reasonable cause to.

I actually find it odd that many NT would jump to abuse too.
To the OP: Where did this observation come from? Did it happen to you or did you see someone ask a child that and generalise it to the entire population?
Perhaps a small amount may ask it but I wouldn't freak out about it, perhaps they have seen this sort of thing before and simply want to make sure it isn't happening again?

I actually feel it could be abuse, as my first assumption.

Because they're stupid.

I knew a child who walked straight into a lamp post when she was 3, and a bruise came up just under her eye, but nobody thought anything.

It depends on the age of the child. If they are a toddler, then I would guess a fall. If they are 10 years old while falling over or knocking into something is still a possibility, I might wonder if someone had hit them (although not necessarily their parents - perhaps another child.) It all depends on the context. I wouldn't jump to any conclusions.

I do know that when it comes to teachers, doctors etc they have to consider the abuse option because of professional guidelines. In the UK doctors have missed some significant signs of abuse and some of those children were subsequently murdered by the parents or carers and so everyone is a little cautious now.

When I was a child I was constantly injured due to my own clumsiness. I also bruise easily, so things often look worse than they are. In those days no-one asked any questions.

Last time I was bruised on my face was this winter. Incident while jumping on the ice.
'Ran into a glass door' is a good reason for bruises, really. I once ran into a glass door at night, and it hurt like hell.

I add it to the list of "possibles" if I see someone I know with a bruise that's out of place.

Smart to suspect these things.

I would never assume it was abuse, unless I had other reasons to suspect it. I would probably think the child had fallen or had been hurt playing sport. My daughter has fallen on her face a few times. If an abuser wanted to go undetected (and they do), they wouldn't normally hit the child where it could be seen. There are kids in my daughter's school who are probably suffering physical abuse (in a school of 600 pupils, there must be at least one child who is suffering). But, neglect is far more obvious and not just by how the child appears.

I would assume it's abuse only because where I live there's a lot of child abuse. However, I would look at a list of factors before determining if it is from abuse. I would look at where it is, how big it is, what shape it is. Once I was at the store and I saw a kid with a fist print on the side of his face, like someone had boxed his ears and it was obvious someone had hit him hard on the side of the head and left a fist print. So sad. The kid was around four or five. I wanted to do something to help but had no idea what I could do. I didn't know the kid's name or the parent's and it was in the middle of a Wal Mart check out line. If a kid has a black, eye, same thing. Most the time, that kind of bruise is made by another person. If it's a small, insignificant bruise, I don't question it because I know such a bruise can occur from clumsiness or an accident.

Most children are very creative when it comes to injuring themselves. Mine have both had numerous bruises and scrapes including black-eye's. It happens.

Now, I don't know whether or not that abuse is the first thing that is assumed by NT's as I've seen no evidence and have no idea how other people think anyway. There is however, a modern trend for being very suspicious and defaulting to negative perceptions of people, hence to relentless push towards the nanny state in so many countries. By painting everyone as a criminal, or potential criminal, it is much easier to manipulate society.

I probably wouldn't even notice. I rarely look at people's faces, let alone children I do not know. But if I did notice, it would have to depend on the location of the bruise. If it was on the child's cheek or chin, I'd probably assume the child had fell or walked into something. If the child had a black eye, I would assume it was done by another child. People are always ready to point the finger at the child's parents, but almost never suspect the culprit is another child. If the child had two black eyes, I'd assume that was an accident. When my sister-in-law was two or three, she fell down the stairs and had two black eyes.