CHILD EMOTIONAL ABUSE
Poor peer relationships which can be complicated and made worse due to:
- a child’s reluctance to play
- forbidden contact with other children
You may notice that a child complains of being lonely or obviously appears to be socially isolated.
The inappropriate behaviours of children who have been emotionally abused or exposed to domestic violence make it difficult for them to make friends –aggression, lack of empathy, and lack of basic learned social skills don’t make them popular choices as playmates.
For these reasons they might avoid playing with others because they aren’t comfortable interacting with other children – and may suffer from loneliness.
Added to this is the fact that often the abusive Parents will forbid the child to have contact with other children, because they can’t deal with the issues that arise or don’t want other children in the home to have to care for, or they don’t want to expose their family’s details to others or risk any secrets getting out.
So in the end you have a child who is trapped in a cycle where they become more and more socially isolated.