Essay About Child Neglect In The Glass Castle

📌Category: Books, Literature
📌Words: 987
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 22 March 2021

Neglect is a form of abuse that mentally scars a person for life and should not be as common as it is in households today. Parenting is defined as the activity of bringing up (look after a child until it is an adult) a child as a parent. The way a parent raises a child shapes the way they act and feel as an adult. When parents chose to not provide for their children, they can grow up with serious mental and physical issues. In the Glass Castle, a memoir by Jennette Walls, Jennette, and her siblings was very neglected as children and didn’t receive the proper care they deserved. Growing up having wreckless, unattentive parents can be extremely dangerous and should not be ignored by anyone who sees it.  

A reason that this claim is factual is that childhood is that having one can be emotionally and physically scaring for life. An article from nctsn.org, titled How Early Childhood Trauma Is Unique “Young children depend exclusively on parents/caregivers for survival and protection—both physical and emotional. When trauma also impacts the parent/caregiver, the relationship between that person and the child may be strongly affected. Without the support of a trusted parent/caregiver to help them regulate their strong emotions, children may experience overwhelming stress, with little ability to effectively communicate what they feel or need.” The quote explains that especially in early childhood development, a child must have their parent to meet their wants and needs. If this does not happen, they start developing issues communicating their emotions and can start to become incredibly stressed or overwelled. These are all things that a child does not forget as they grow, so some of these unhealthy habits could stay with them even as an adult. Some may not see this as dangerous, but neglect can harm someone in many ways. This quote proves that without a parental figure guiding a child through the early stages of their life, they can have extreme social and mental issues. These issues can then lead to other, bigger issues, like addiction, poverty, or even death. Then, a quote from Jennette Walls in The Glass Castle states, “Six months later, Maureen stabbed Mom. It happened after     Mom decided it was time for Maureen to develop a little self-sufficiency by moving out and finding a place of her own.” (Walls 275). Maureen is the most neglected of all the Walls children and it shows as she grows up. Jennette said multiple times that she was her father's favorite, Lori was her mothers, and Brian and Jennette were so close in age that they had a close bond to begin with. Maureen had no one to go to for emotional support so she never knew much happiness. Because of the emotional neglect Maureen experienced growing up she never learned how to communicate her feelings appropriately. When faced with the ultimate betrayal of trust (being thrown out of the house) she responds in the only way she knows how – anger and violence because her parents never meet her emotional needs, which would have thought her much more than just that. Having emotional support at an early age is very necessary for happiness mental stability especially for a child at an early age.  

Another reason why this claim is true is that when a parent doesn’t help their children make good choices while their brain is still developing, they can grow to make wreckless choices in the future. A quote from practicenotes.org states, “The ongoing nature of chronic neglect significantly impacts the brain in infancy and early childhood. According to Perry (2002), neglect at this phase impedes formation of neurological pathways essential to communication in the brain. Neglect has been shown to harm the frontal cortex, the area of the brain responsible for planning, decision making, and memory.” This scientifically explains why it is important for children to grow up having parental figures who can make sure they are growing up understanding the importance of decision making and how to do it correctly. Without this prior knowledge, it is extremely hard for one to grow up and succeed in life. Without knowing what the right thing is to do VS the wrong, a child can grow up clueless on what to do, which more than likely leads them on the wrong path. This type of behavior is dangerous because if one makes the wrong choice after wrong, it could lead to unbelievably terrible things such as death. Jennette Walls then writes in her memoir The Glass Castle, “I had just turned eighteen. I quit my job at the hamburger joint the next day and became a full­time reporter for The Phoenix. I'd never been happier in my life.” (Walls 248). Jennette defiantly could have found a steadier job opportunity, but because this one was right in front of her, she took it. She stated she was going to college which was giving her internships and she had a part-time job. The entire walls family has a ridiculously challenging time making sane choices and their actions show that constantly. While Jennette does end up being highly successful in her life, she makes some very risky discissions to get to that place that she is at now which reflects on her parents and how she followed her dreams just as they did thought-out her childhood. The wreckless decisions of her parents reflect on Jennette while she is a child and sticks with her as she grows. She doesn’t have the same extremeness to her actions, but some do lead back to the way she had been raised. If things had not gone Jennette's way, she could've ended up in the same place as her father and mother, but she had gotten lucky. Decision making is one of the most important skills needed in life and when a parent doesn’t teach their child how it can affect them severely for the rest of their life.  

Parental neglect is a crime and should be called upon if seen because children raised this way have extraordinary mental problems for the rest of their lives. If one sees this occurring, it should never be brushed off the shoulder. Report this to Child Protective Services or if emergent, straight to the police. This is one of the most serious topics to exist in our society and needs to be stopped. 

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