Was my child abused?

Question

I left my son alone in a hotel room with a family member; I only went out to the car to put my luggage in. When i left the room my son was completely fine, by the time i got back i could hear him screaming down the hall... When i entered the room, i found him dragging himself up against the wall crying. My son has never dragged himself up against the wall while crying. That was the 1st and last time hes done that... he's 1 years old...

From a psychological point of view, i thought he did this (dragging against the wall) Looking for safety ... What do u guys think.

btw I never allow him around my family anymore. they believe in spanking their child so i dont trust them with mine.....

my cousin said nothing happened but i dont believe her... what do u guys think?

Answer 1

If it was your first time leaving him alone with family member, then something must of gone wrong.  You should really find out why and question that person.  It's not normal for your son to act like that unless that kid needs his mom.

Answer 2

i don't have kids (lots of nieces and nephews though), but i think you should follow your instinct as a mother... if this is unusual behavior for your child, then something must have happened.... 1 year olds don't scream bloody murder for no reason. in my opinion, it sounds like she either screamed at him or did something worse.

i'm sorry your little one went through this.

Answer 3

something obviously happened. I suspect they spanked him. You best keep him away from these people--who not only don't honor your wishes on raising your child, but are big fat liars.

Answer 4

At that age I don't think it was sexual abuse, it wouldn't be common for a one year old to react in that way.

Maybe the child was spanked.

Or maybe he was just screaming because you left the room and just happened to be crawling a long the walls.

I don't consider spanking child abuse unless it is in an extensive and unsafe nature.

Answer 5

I don't think you're jumping to conclusions to suspect your child may have been abused.  I don't believe your cousin's story that nothing happened either; how could they not elaborate on that, or it it was true to you to have you return and not find them coddling your child, worried sick that something bad had happened to them? That makes no sense.  If they did something that doesn't qualify as horrible but only somewhat bad, such as yelling at the child, they would have admitted it because they genuinely believed they were only discipling and not doing an absolute wrong.

You may not ever know the truth of what did happen in that hotel room, but absolutely do not allow that family member to be with your child alone; trust your motherly instincts. I however think it is taking it too far to say it's not okay for any family member to be with your child, and you may be unfairly generalizing some of their opinions on child raising. For the sake of your child, do not deprive them of all contact with their grandparents and such, but during those visits ensure your personal supervision or that of a trusted friend.