WITH EXPERTS ESTIMATING that more than 1 million children experience some form of violence at home each year, child abuse is clearly a very real problem in the United States. Dealing with child abuse, however, offers a number of challenges. Reluctance among people to interfere with how parents raise their children, confusion about how best to intervene, and a lack of resources all hamper efforts to address child abuse.

A choice left to parents

The choice of how to discipline a child is left to the parents. Relatives, neighbors, teachers, and the police are all hesitant to interfere with parental discipline. This reluctance to interfere allows abuse to continue, sometimes to the point where it results in death. An example is that of a little girl in New York who was beaten by her mother's boyfriend. According to Dr. Michael Baden, director of forensic services...