Children Who See Too Much: Lessons from the Child Witness to Violence Project

by Betsy McAlister Groves

For the last ten years Betsy Groves has been working with children traumatized by witnessing violence. In this book she shows how children understand, respond to, and are affected by violence, especially domestic violence. Groves makes the powerful case that traumatic events carried out by family members carry the most severe psychological risks for very young children. She uses clinical case studies to show that being young does not protect against the lasting effects of witnessing violence, and she offers ways adults can help.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Abuse

184 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2001

Reviews

[Erin Fairchild · Rating 5 out of 5]

This woman doesn't know it, but she's totally my career mentor. I don't think anyone I know wants to read books on this subject matter, but if you ever get a hankering for successful interventions in childhood trauma and domestic violence, this lady is aces. It brings a tear to my eye, actually, how good she is.

[Adelaide · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very clearly written and definitely drew on McAlister Groves' extensive experience to illustrate problems and solutions through storytelling. Perhaps most surprising to me is that just 20 years ago, there was no recognition among psychiatrists/psychologists/therapists that young children could be affected by witnessing violence. It was assumed that children, especially toddlers, were unlikely to remember traumatic events. Based on this understanding, parents and others avoided talking about such events in order to speed up the forgetting. Unfortunately, this just meant that children had no one to go to with fear, anger, or anxiety about what they had seen. Crazy!

[Sarah Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Betsy Groves works with children traumatized by witnessing violence. In this book she shows how children understand, respond to, and are affected by violence, especially domestic violence. She uses clinical case studies to show that being young does not protect against the lasting effects of witnessing violence. I thought it would be a far more enlightening read than it was, I felt like it a giant brochure for her program, Child Witness to Violence Project. There was so much about the program and not enough about the children and effects/solutions. I was very disappointed.
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[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is helpful but very limited. If you have never dealt with domestic violence before then it is a good read. If you are looking for in depth dealing with kids who witness violence, you should look else where. There are helpful observations, good tips and a good projection of what society needs to do to help kids deal with their emotion after witnessing violence.

[Sarah Twist · Rating 3 out of 5]

Generally a good book that had some very clear themes and information especially in the earlier chapters. The later chapters seemed to lose sight of the audience somewhat and lost the clarity that was in the earlier parts.

Probably aimed more at parents and perhaps teachers than mental health professionals but overall a well written read and definitely worth reading the first 4 chapters

[Kristine Codega · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Couldn’t finish this book. It’s just like reading a long essay with statistics and facts.

[Jemima · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of interesting information the author has derived from the real world.

[Julia Plumb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book, well-presented, but I had just finished reading The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog and that had a little bit more information and was easier for me to digest because each piece of information was imbedded in a case study.

[Candace Phelps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreakingly honest look at the effect of exposure to violence (including domestic) in the lives of children 8 and under. A safe place is a privilege.

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most important book any educator can read.

[Clivemichael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent review of a difficult subject.