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Children Exposed to Domestic Violence: An Early Childhood Educator's Handbook to Increase Understanding and Improve Community Responses

NCJ Number
202187
Author(s)
Linda L. Baker; Peter G. Jaffe; Lynda Ashbourne; Janet Carter
Date Published
2002
Length
32 pages
Annotation
This handbook for early-childhood educators provides information on domestic violence and its impact on young children; the signs that children may manifest when they are having difficulties; ways to support children and deal with challenging behavior; and support and resources for parents who may be adult victims of domestic violence.
Abstract
In discussing the importance of early-childhood educators' having knowledge of domestic violence and its impact on children, the handbook notes that each year in the United States, millions of children are exposed to violence in their homes, schools, neighborhoods, and through the media; however, young children are most likely to experience domestic violence, i.e., abusive behavior used by one intimate partner to control and dominate the other. Children under age 5 are more likely to live in a household where domestic violence occurs than are children in any other age category. A section on definitions related to domestic violence and its impact on children is followed by a section on the nature and dynamics of domestic violence. A report on the findings of the U.S. National Violence Against Women Survey conducted from November 1995 to May 1996 notes that approximately 1.3 million women and 835,000 men in the United States annually experience violence by a current or former partner. An overview of the impacts of domestic violence on children advises that watching, hearing, or later learning of a parent being harmed by a partner threatens children's sense of stability and security typically provided by their family. Specific potential impacts on children are listed, with attention to differing impacts on children at various age levels. Signs an early-childhood educator should note as potential indicators of a child being exposed to domestic violence are also listed. Suggestions for support responses teachers can provide for both children and victimized parents are offered. Types of community support are also described. Other topics addressed in the handbook are ways to respond when children display troubling behavior; strategies for modifying challenging behavior; effective programs; what to do when a child's parent is a victim of domestic violence; ways to support a child who makes a disclosure of domestic violence; guidelines to assist with decisionmaking and responding; and reporting suspected child abuse to child protection services. Planning for ensuring a child's safety is also discussed, and two stories of children's exposure to domestic violence are presented. Also included are resource pamphlets for English-speaking and Spanish-speaking parents. A list of resources and 16 references