Adverse Childhoods and Its Affects

Adverse Childhoods and its Affects

As people we have to pass through many stages of life, since he is born until he dies. We have to go through infancy, childhood, boyhood, youth, middle age and old age. Childhood generally continues from the 6th to the 12th year of age. Boyhood continues from the 12th to the 19th year of age. Youth lasts from the 20 to 35 year of age. Middle age lasts from the 36th to the 50thyear of age. Old age continues from 56th year until death. Of all the stages of life childhood can be called the most essential to a person's life, because it is the influential period of life. It is also the first conscious stage of life.

Childhood is the period in life of any individual, when the foundation of a person's character is "laid". This is the period when a child learns to imbibe things. This period is also very significant for developing the personal traits such as good interpersonal skills, leadership skills, sincerity, diligence, motivation and ambitions. All of the traits that were mentioned are very important for being successful in future professionally successful. Childhood is the source of our ability to imagine, our hope, and our greatest thrills. It is imperative for us to retain it, and if we cannot, we should at least capture it in memory and remember it for ourselves and others. Those that resign to a tranquil adult existence give up their greatest means of appreciating life. Overall childhood is the times when you're suppose to enjoy life and be worry free. The childhood experiences that someone encompasses affect that person usually to adulthood good or bad.

Both of the male characters in Griffin's Our Secret talks of men who have "gone bad" starting with a horrible childhood. Heinrich's father was a controlling beast who ordered the child's life when he should have just been a child. From his first journal entry Heinrich is being controlled by his father and has responsibilities most humans don't get until their first job in the teens, yet he is still a young ten year old boy when, "His father tells him his childhood is over now"(Griffin, p. 345). At the age of ten he no longer is allowed to enjoy the simple things, he has to be a grown up and take full responsibility. His father continued his sons life education by having him snitch on all his classmates, making him an outcast among them. In doing this Heinrich's father is stealing his childhood from him. His father controls Heinrich as if he Heinrich is a toy robot, he orders him to do whatever he pleases. Much of this was the same for Leo. Leo was cheated of his childhood a little differently; his was taken from the help of physical abuse and the war. In Our Secret it says "His father was a cold man, given to rages over small errors. Leo was beaten often. Such attacks had already forced his older half brother out of the house. It was to this brother that Leo bonded and gave his love (Griffin, p. 372)". This is an example of physical abuse; a child who was frequently abused has been robbed of their childhood. As a victim of abuse the person has also been robbed of the confidence, security, trust, and psychosocial development that a normal childhood usually provides. Also the lost of his brother whom he loved causes Leo to not learn companionship and real love which is essential to becoming an adult. Abuse has damaging effects on people, the effects are not easily overcome the usually continue into adulthood.

The effects of childhood abuse can continue into adulthood, affecting both the victim and people close to him or her. There are many forms of abuse that affect people and different ways that usually have a damaging affect on their adult life. Suffering