Child Abuse, All Grown Up “Mother can beat me all she wants, but I haven’t let her take away my will to somehow survive.” (Pelzer, 1995) Dave Pelzer, the author of A Child Called It, wrote the story of his own childhood where he was maliciously abused by his mother from when he was four until he was twelve. Pelzer was able to pull himself into society after making it through foster homes and the U.S. Air Force, and is now using his story to teach resilience in self-help seminars. Unfortunately, not every child subjected to this maltreatment makes it through life, it is horrifying to know that in 2021, the National Children’s Alliance estimated that 1,820 children died from child abuse in the United States. When children make it out of these horrible situations, growing up is completely different compared …show more content…
Between the twenty-fifth and the twenty-sixth week of gestation, the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC) starts developing, this life and personality giving process will not be fully completed until the baby has reached twenty-five years old. This part of the brain is responsible for problem solving, memory, impulse control, emotion regulation, moral practices, and cognitive behaviors. It becomes impossible for a child to reach their full potential if they are being horribly mistreated during this crucial development. “Due to its protracted development, the PFC is the brain region that is most susceptible to damage in childhood and adolescents and is hence considered an important target for abnormal development in children and adults who have been exposed to severe environmental stressors such as maltreatment.” Hart H and Rubia K (2012) Children are like sponges, they pick up on everything that is going on around them and it is usually a characteristic most parents admire about their little one but it does not always have a beneficial effect on the child's development in toxic