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It is surprising how a family could once be a replica of the television sitcom The Brady Bunch, then drastically change into a nightmare like the book Flowers in the Attic, by V. C. Andrews. Stephen Joseph and Catherine River were once what seemed to be the perfect parents. Davids parents were very much in love with each other and loved their children.
Our parents seemed happy to lie next to each other on a blanket, sip red wine and watch us play. (25). Davids mother was very involved in her childrens lives. She was always teaching them new and exciting information. She taught them about the different species of fish in their aquarium, the birth process when their cat had kittens, she taught them traditions and the values about every holiday and all about the different places the family visited like Juniper Serra Park, Golden Gate Park, and the Russian River. Family trips and summer vacations loaded their memories and kept them more excited for the next trip. David and his brothers felt as if they had the perfect life.
It seemed to be a life that was a little too good to be true. Soon alcohol took complete control over Davids mother. The effects of her drinking led to severe abuse on Davids part. David was starved, slapped, punched, stabbed, ignored, nearly drowned in freezing cold water in the bathtub, and almost suffocated in a homemade gas chamber made by his mother, consisting of ammonia and Clorox. David never washed the solution off of his arms and it kept eating away at the skin on his arms. David was ordered to sleep on an army cot in the cold garage after each of these situations every day.
David was brainwashed into believing that he was worth less, and made to say, I hate myself. Soon he wished he were dead. These are situations that no one should ever have to face, let alone this abuse being led on by your mother. His mother made David into a slave. He did all the house keeping including cleaning up after dinner, doing the dishes, and scrubbing the bathroom. When David was finished serving his family, he was secluded to the basement for the rest of the night.
David was a very strong child, he made a promise to himself to never give up, and he stuck to it. I congratulate him for his ability to stay strong. Every child gets into trouble, which is natural. That does not deserve the sick treatment that David received.
David was forced to lie to cover up the sick games that his mother played with him, and to avoid getting her arrested for all the accidents that she made happen. Davids situation was obvious. At school, the nurse made him take off all of his clothes and examine his bruised body. She sees the slashes on his face, his chipped teeth, and the scar from where his mother stabbed him. His teachers saw that his clothing was ripped, and he smelled from not being cleaned, and was always stealing food to calm his hunger from not being fed. The principal had a pretty good idea of what was going on at Davids house because he also saw the way David came to school, and had to discipline him for all the trouble he had gotten into at school.
From the beginning they should have recommended the services that David needed to help him. The first thing that they should have done was to contact the police immediately. Then recommended the help that David needed to help him and keep him safe. The services that I think David needs are most importantly foster care.
He needs to be taken out of the abusive situation. A foster parent could give David the love, support, nurturance, and be a role model for him to change. David also needs individual psychotherapy to give him a chance to have a special relationship with an adult who has the capability of being nurturing, supportive, and predictable. I also think group therapy is important. Chronically abused children tend to have difficulties with socialization and peer relations. This will help David trust other people and possibly make some friends.
Developmental therapy is another service I believe David, he never had the chance to be a kid and never had the chance to mature and grow up. Davids mother needs a lot of help herself. She had problems with her family as a child. She felt that everybody was trying to tell her what to do. She never felt at ease, especially with her own mother who was a strong willed person (145). First of all she need alcohol treatment therapy.
She has no control over herself when she is under the influence. Family counseling is also recommended because of the physical and emotional abuse she gave to David. Davids mother should also serve some time in prison. She committed a terrible crime and deserves to pay for it.
Davids mother appears to be mentally ill and suffering from depression. She probably cant imagine what it would be like to be in Davids shoes. She needs to be counseled about her feelings about David and try to resolve them. Davids father was just as bad as his mother was. How could he sit there and watch one of his children get tortured? I think he was just as sick as his wife was, He never even helped, and made many empty promises.
David and his father were once very close, and then the man he once thought was his hero left behind David. Davids father needs to get counseling for his self-esteem. He seemed to scared to speak up about what abuse was going on in his house. Davids brothers also need family counseling because they witnessed all the abuse that David was put through. No child should ever have to see that, not even to mention going through it. Other people that might also need help is all the people that were involved with David at school.
His teachers, his principal, the school nurse and the police may have also been affected. Situations like this people really take to heart and it may be hard for them to deal with that. I think that Davids teachers may need some counseling to help them deal with what had happened and how they feel about it, and also some extra training so if there is another incident like this they would know how to handle the situation better. The principal of Davids school also needs some counseling because of his involvement with David. I believe that he also should have better training of what to do in these types of cases not only because of David, but also because of other children that can be going through this sort of abuse.
The nurse at Davids school saw all of the bruises and scars on David so she was definitely involved. She would need counseling to deal with her emotions and feelings. Cases like Davids tend to be taken to heart, so I feel the police should talk to a counselor and deal with the way that they feel too. Personally, I dont think that I could ever work with any of the people involved in this situation. I felt too much compassion for David and a loss of respect for Davids parents. Having children is a blessing, and I believe that if a person doesnt have control of their behaviors, they shouldnt be able to have children.
I feel that David should be put into foster care, and his parents should lose all their parental rights. David deserves the childhood that many children do have. David should always feel safe and loved, which he never got the chance to feel under his mothers care. He should be having fun with other kids, playing out side, making friends, and trying new experiences, while being taught responsibilities. Neither he nor any other child should be treated like a slave or abused.
David accepted the situation he was in, and knew he had to find a way out. All he was looking for in his life was love and respect, which he never experienced. David was very young when all the abuse started. He was a child who lost everything, had nothing and figured the only way out was to die, he wanted his mother to just kill him.
David deserves the chance to start over. In reading the epilogue, I learned that David turned his life around. After he was taken away from his family, his mother still threatened him. In court, his mother told him that she would kill his teachers, the police and Mrs.
Gold, his social worker. I respect him very much for being so strong, and believing in his dreams. David is now Free because of what he did for him self. David was very lucky, most abused children dont make it as far as he did. He is now free because he believed that he could beat his mother at her own game, and he did!
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