Abandonment

The emotional abandonment of a child is something that happens every day.  Any time a child is put in a situation which they are not prepared to handle, if there is no external support present, that child is being abandoned.  That means there are big abandonments and small abandonments.  If a parent walks out on their family and never comes back, that's a big abandonment.  If a parent allows a child to become addicted to video games, that's a small abandonment.  Most parents are guilty of some form of abandonment at one time or another.  Especially in our modern culture, there are so many things that children need to be taught, it's almost impossible to recognize them all.  The job of parents is not to be perfect.  The job of parents is to be aware of how easy it is to abandon a child and make an effort to avoid doing so.

The long term impact of abandonment is severe.  If a child is raised in a loving, supportive environment, but the parents make a few minor errors, the child will learn to cope with that most of the time, because most children will be able to see that those were just mistakes. But if the environment is one of neglect, most children will struggle and will continue to struggle as adults, because repeated abandonment teaches the child that their abandonment is their own fault.  Those children become adults who spend their lives feeling "less than" others.  Some seek out love and acceptance everywhere they go, often to such an extent that they don't know how to just live their lives.  Others give up and live tiny, pathetic lives, filled with dangerous, self-destructive behaviors.  Either way, the damage is severe, and commonly permanent.  

To avoid all of this, love your children and teach them how to survive in the world.