Tees Safeguarding Children Partnerships' Procedures Download Referral Form Consult 'The Framework of Need'

1. Overview

1.1 Emotional abuse is the persistent emotional maltreatment of a child such as to cause severe and persistent adverse effects on the child's emotional development. It may involve conveying to children that they are:

• worthless or unloved,
• inadequate, or
• valued only insofar as they meet the needs of another person.

1.2 It may include:

• humiliating or constantly criticising a child
• never saying anything kind
• threatening, shouting at child or calling them names
• blaming and scapegoating
• making a child perform degrading acts
• not giving the child opportunities to express their views, trying to control their lives and not recognising their individuality
• deliberately silencing them or 'making fun' of what they say or how they communicate
• age or developmentally inappropriate expectations being imposed on children
• interactions that are beyond the child's developmental capability
• over-protection and limitation of exploration and learning
• preventing the child participating in normal social interaction, not allowing them to have friends
• persistently ignoring them
• seeing or hearing the ill-treatment of another
• serious bullying (including cyber-bullying)
• causing children frequently to feel frightened or in danger
• the exploitation, corruption or manipulation of children
• never showing any emotions in interactions with a child, also known as emotional neglect

1.3 Some level of emotional abuse is involved in all types of maltreatment of a child, though it may occur alone.

1.4 Emotional abuse can lead to:

• Behavioural problems
• Impacted emotional development
• Mental health problems

1.5 The NSPCC website has some helpful information about emotional abuse including risk factors, signs to look out for and the effects that emotional abuse can have on a child or young person.