Child Abuse: Munchausen By Proxy

Child abuse is most often seen and spoken of as the physical hitting and injuring of a child for disciplinary purposes or in anger. However, there is another form of child abuse. One that sprouts not from anger or inability to otherwise disciple a child, but by a desire for attention. Munchausen by Proxy is the unheard of and undiscussed form of abuse that seems to be hidden from the world, one even harder to spot than the usual abuse. Munchausen by proxy is a form of Munchausen syndrome, an extremely rare mental illness that causes people to go to great lengths to deceive medical professionals into believing they have an illness, often by poisoning, starving themselves, etc. Munchausen by proxy occurs when someone does this to another person, …show more content…
In neglected households the child may have only received any attention when they were sick and their parents new they needed medical attention. If the parent only received attention when they were sick, they grew up thinking that was the only way to get people to pay attention to them, by being sick (Lyness, 2015). This distorted thinking and the deep-rooted need for attention they still experience leads to them making their children sick because in their minds, that is how you get attention. They are not only looking for people to pay attention to their child, but themselves as well. When their child is sick and they stay at the hospital to take care of them they are praised and seen as wonderful, caring parents.
Abuse or neglect is always combined with a few other issues, often biological factors and major stress aid in causing onset of the syndrome. ("Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy") As mentioned before, a need for attention is the most important factor. There is always a need for attention, they just use their child to receive this attention by proxy. What varies is the origin of the need, whether it be abuse, neglect, or just a bad combination of biological predisposition and …show more content…
These parents are very ill. Extreme neglect or abuse, often combined with major stress, create a parent who without comprehending that they are hurting their child or maybe without caring, cause their children to be sick for the attention. They are skilled at deceiving and it makes it very hard to actually diagnose them with the disorder. If the doctors recognize the symptoms, from doctor shopping to chemicals in a child’s urine, they still have to work hard to prove it. After the parent has been diagnosed, treating them is almost impossible because they are often unwilling to admit to anything. The child is usually placed in the care of another and treated with extensive therapy. What MBPS needs the most is awareness. If doctors can recognize it, we can study it and figure out how to prevent and properly treat it. This abuse is just as dangerous as any other

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