Child Neglect, just isn't about not feeding your child....

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Child neglect just isn't about not feeding your child or providing your child with the basic needs. It goes beyond that. Today on Oprah the show was on neglected children who hadn't received direct attention from the parents. The one child who was now with a new family was not removed until she was much older and even at the age of 10 years, her mind was still that of an 18 month child. It was the saddest thing I've seen today. It brought up a good point though, neglect comes in many forms and none more damaging then that of no attention. It's funny how you will hear parents say "They just did that for attention" all of the time not even realizing that their child deserves their attention. Parking your child in front of the television, letting them play alone all day, or what have you is a form of child neglect. Meaning, it really is child abuse. In what ways do you spend time with your child? How do you avoid the temptation to use the television as a substitute? Do you feel you've been neglectful at times? How did you change? Do you feel that this type of child abuse needs to be punished? How so and what fits the crime? How do we change as a nation? I know for myself, I've found at times that even I struggle with the balance of writing my master thesis, communicating online with friends, writing up my articles for publication, and raising a family, as well as being a wife. However, it seems that using my planner has helped me the most. I have a set pattern each day that I follow (with flexibility of course lol). I try to make sure that when the children are up that I'm spending one-on-one time or that their dad is with them if I do have to do something, like clean. Though, I've found that most of the time I have tag-a-longs so it makes for a close time even if I am cleaning. Though, by direct attention, I try to get down on my children's eye level, cuddle, and look at them directly when they are speaking with me. I try to do what I can to show them my love, and also help them develop empathy-something that even this show pointed out is diminishing in our country because of this type of neglect. I'm not a perfect mother by any means, but I am an aware mother who knows that being a parent comes first. Namaste-Anora