Child Abuse Cases Increase On Saturdays When Report Cards Are Distributed On Fridays
Countless studies are conducted to help determine ways that child abuse can be taken down in number or eliminated entirely. It seems like a never-ending battle, but it is one that people will continue to fight against until no child is harmed. Well, a new study in Florida has determined that child abuse cases increase on a Saturday when report cards are handed out in schools on a Friday.
In a study posted by JAMA Pediatrics, by way of the Washington Post, researchers originally believed report card distribution would increase child abuse. They thought that would be the case no matter what day the children would receive their report cards.
That didn’t end up being the case, though, as increases in child abuse only occurred on Saturday after report cards were handed out on a Friday. Found out by studying reports of a child abuse hotline included burns, broken bones, and other confirmed cases.
When looking at the days of the week that child abuse claims occurred, the Saturdays after report-card Fridays were more than four times those reported on other Saturdays. Melissa Bright is a University of Florida psychologist and she stated that poor school work displays often bring trouble for kids.
“Anecdotally, we know a lot of parents will spank their children or use corporal punishment if they’re unsatisfied with their school work.”
Spanking can end up becoming worse and more abusive when children don’t have school the next day after report cards are handed out. The study shows that parents believe the injuries are more unlikely to go unnoticed if a few days pass between the punishment and the child returning to school.
A new study found a nearly fourfold increase in verified child physical abuse cases on Saturdays that followed Friday report card distributions at Florida public schools https://t.co/lSQYbXqbN1
— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 17, 2018
Teachers are always required to report any suspicions of child abuse, and some parents will take that into consideration when disciplining their kids. There is no proof behind this part of the study, but the researchers have thrown that out there as speculation for the number of child abuse cases increasing on those Saturdays.
There is also speculation that child abuse cases are less when report cards are handed out on other weekdays as parents are too busy. They may have not the time to focus on the child’s grades or report card and therefore, don’t dish out punishment for unsatisfactory marks.
Again, there is no substantiated proof of that speculation.
The Florida study reviewed the release dates of report cards in the majority of 67 counties in Florida during the academic year of 2015-2016. They used that information while reviewing calls made to a child abuse hotline in the state which included close to 2,000 physical abuse cases in children ages 5 to 11.
When breaking down the research, regular Saturdays saw a bit less than 0.2 cases of abuse per 100,000 children on regular Saturdays. On the Saturdays after report cards were handed out on a Friday before, that number rose to more than 0.6 cases per 100,000 children.
Experts believe that report cards should be a time when parents find out why their children are struggling in school and what is causing the problem. Those who conducted the study state that changing report card distribution days from a Friday in any month could help reduce some child abuse. Overall, it won’t stop all child abuse, but even moving report card days to always be in the middle of the week could be beneficial in the future.
