All too often, children are abused at home. We typically think of abuse in the physical sense -- beatings, whippings, etc. -- or even in the sexual sense. Rape, after all, is one of the most grisly acts that can be performed against a child. Nonetheless, emotional abuse -- from name-calling to threats of violence -- can leave scars just as deep. It is, after all, the underlying emotional connotations of any given act that give that act is gruesomeness.

Children are particularly vulnerable to abuse because they may not know that certain actions are wrong, and they generally lack the social authority and know-how to take action to protect themselves against their accusers.