Child abandonment facts for kids

Child abandonment is when a parent leaves their child. There are many causes of child abandonment, including poverty or mental illness. In many countries, if a children are abandoned, they become orphans and live in an orphanage. They are raised there until they reach 18.

In the United States, "Safe Haven Laws" allow parents to leave their infants at certain safe places. The goal of these laws is to keep parents from leaving their infants in unsafe places, or killing them. In some states, leaving a baby at a Safe Haven is thought of as child abandonment, and a complaint may be filed in family court. But as long as the baby has not been hurt, the parents cannot be charged with a crime for leaving their baby at a Safe Haven. The baby is given to state child protection workers, who find a safe place for the baby and try to get him or her adopted. Hospitals, fire stations, and police stations are common Safe Havens.

Images for kids

• 

  A modern Baby box or Baby hatch in the Czech Republic where a baby can be anonymously abandoned while ensuring that the child will be cared for.

• 

  The children of Queen Blondine and of her sister, Princess Brunette, picked up by a Corsair after seven days at sea; illustration by Walter Crane to the fairy tale Princess Belle-Etoile.

See also

In Spanish: Abandono infantil para niños