When a child is born, people normally view it as a positive and wonderful thing to happen in a person's life. It should be a paternal instinct to love, cherish and protect this little person's life. Unfortunately, sometimes this is not always the case and those parents mistreat or allow someone else to mistreat their children. There are also those parents whose children happen to be neglected or abused without their knowledge. The problem of child abuse and neglect is something that happens to children every day and ruins their childhood and has a great impact on them for the rest of their lives. Having children requires a lot of attention, time, love and money, among other things, to raise them properly. There are some parents who are not willing to put so much effort into raising a child. Sometimes this is where the abandonment and abuse begins, the parent or parents decide they don't really want the child after all. They end up not having as much money as they once did and the love and affection for their child is lost. A child who is neglected or abused in their own home by a parent is a child's worst nightmare. Their parent is the person they should turn to for love, protection and support against the world. Having a parent hit them, or not feeding them, or having their parent degrade them mentally is something that happens. Unfortunately, sometimes this is the result of the parent having a drug problem, or being abused, or depressed (Healy, 2013). These adult parents do not know how to take care of children because they are not mentally capable. Neglected or abused children are on the rise, according to the NCANDS, about nine out of every thousand children... half the paper... will appreciate it in life and will probably appreciate it more when they are older. Being a parent is one of the hardest and scariest things in the world. It's hard to imagine a parent actually harming their own flesh and blood. It's easy to accidentally say something to a child that might hurt their feelings. It's easy to make spirits soar when times are tough and children ask for things that can't be had. This is the time when things can get out of hand. Child abuse and neglect are way out of control. It usually starts with the parents. Parents must be adults and take care of their children in the right way. They were blessed by God the day they had their son. People don't realize that the abuse and neglect of those children is not right. Every child deserves a fair chance at a good life without having to suffer any neglect of abuse.