Warning! Parents may seem evasive or inconsistent in their story due to language or cultural differences, or to being embarrassed or afraid relating to some other issue. Cultural/language difficulties may also lead to delayed care.
			What are age-appropriate normal sexual behaviors?
			Children may be injured by domestic violence via: being too small to get out of the way trying to intervene becoming an object of abuse being neglected by the abused parent, who may be focused on their own fear or depression
			Red flags with injuries: explanation doesn’t fit the injury as to pattern, timing, or developmental ability of child explanation keeps changing child is consistently blamed as cause of repeated injuries significant injuries attributed to a young sibling delay in seeking medical care history of multiple ED visits frequent change of primary care provider
			Parental risk factors: rigid, severe discipline strongly responds to negative behaviors, ignores child's positive behaviors ridicules child in public isolates child socially or from other family members seems overprotective or jealous unrealistic expectations of child development or behavior for age parent is caregiver for child with significant cognitive, physical or emotional disabilities child unwanted, unplanned lack of emotional interaction with child inappropriate over or under concern about injury partial confession depression difficulty controlling emotions, esp. anger substance abuse teen parenthood family stress such as divorce, job loss

Signs & Symptoms of Abuse/Neglect