In a completely nonsensical article, today’s USA Today blames an increase in child abuse on long deployments.
“Army wives whose husbands are deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan have committed markedly higher rates of child neglect and abuse than when their spouses are home, according to a study Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The Army-funded study found child neglect was almost four times greater during periods when the husbands were at war. Physical child abuse was nearly twice as high during combat deployments.
“Deployment … has been associated with increased stress among non-deployed parents, which may hamper their ability to appropriately care for their children,” the study said.”
The solution the article calls for is shorter deployments and more time home between them.
Excuse me?
So the poor wives are so stressed over hubby being gone that they abuse the kids? It’s the deployment’s fault? What happened to personal responsibility and acting like an adult? I see a dangerous trend these days where women get a pass on any irrational act. Whether it’s PMS or the evil male, there’s an excuse for anything. It’s never the woman’s fault especially when there’s a political agenda involved.
Yes, it’s stressful. Guess what? Life sucks sometimes. Get over it. There’s no excuse to flake out and abuse or neglect your kids. Suck it up and act like an adult. We need to stop letting women (or anyone) blame others for their actions.
