Parental Neglect In 'Grendel' By John Gardner

1178 Words5 Pages

Parental neglect has a huge impact on children. It can make children psychopaths, killers, terrorists, and even sexual predators. Multiple studies show that children that do not get the proper nourishment from their parents show that they are more likely to be failing school and to not succeed in life. Also, studies show that children that are neglected from their parents can be related to other failures in life. Parents are the children’s role model and they influence how their child will be raised. Parental neglect can influence how children behave such as Genie, the psychological effect and how it connects to the novel Grendel by John Gardner.
Topic 1: (Genie The Feral Child) Genie is a pure example of how parenting has affected children …show more content…

Through many studies, it is confirmed that it is necessary to how human interactions affect others. From the Child Welfare Information Gateway states that “ Physical, mental, emotional, and medical abuse can all be characterized by the failure to raise a child and will face criminal indictment” (Child Welfare). This shows how serious a crime of child neglect can be. It is vital for parents to raise their children accordingly or else they will face dire consequences. Also Doctors Melina Smith and Jeanne Segal believe that, “Child neglect—a very common type of child abuse—is a pattern of failing to provide for a child's basic needs, whether it be adequate food, clothing, hygiene, or supervision. Child neglect is not always easy to spot. Sometimes, a parent might become physically or mentally unable to care for a child, such as with a serious injury, untreated depression, or anxiety. Other times, alcohol or drug abuse may seriously impair judgment and the ability to keep a child safe” (Smith, Segal). This illustrates that children are dependent with adult parental advice until the age of 14. Kids need the proper care from adults to point them to the right direction. Furthermore, Ms. Burke concluded that “Child development is critical to the human society...Disregarding children is one of the worst things one can do” (Burke 6:02). This shows that children who are neglected in their lifetime are shown to have half of a life than those who were properly nourished. Also, she believes that human interactions are so important and are often taken for