Child abuse is the physical or psychological maltreatment of a child by an adult, often synonymous with the term child maltreatment or the term child abuse and neglect. - Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_abuse Amy Sample Ward

Abuse is a general term for the use or treatment of something (person, thing, idea, etc.) that causes some kind of harm (to the abused person or thing, to the abusers themselves, or to someone else) or is unlawful or wrongful. Its close synonyms are mistreatment and maltreatment. The word "misuse" has a more distant meaning of incorrect, uneducated use, not necessarily harmful to a person. - Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abuse Amy Sample Ward

Child neglect, is a category of maltreatment related to child abuse, when the biological parent(s) or legally assigned adult(s) fail to provide for the proper physical care needs of their dependent children. - Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neglect Amy Sample Ward