Child abuse comes in many forms, the most commonly understood being physical abuse, causing physical pain to a child in ways such as spanking, caning, and general hitting. Though this kind of abuse is common, it is not the only type. Emotional abuse does not leave physical marks that can be seen, but usually entails yelling and degrading a child, or blaming them for things out of their control. Neglectfulness is another type of abuse that seriously lowers a child’s self esteem, but at the same time damages their physical health; this is the act of ignoring a child’s needs, such as food and water, though it can also be ignoring the child’s existence all together. Finally there’s sexual abuse. Not only is this highly illegal in all of the united states and most other countries, but is also severely damaging to the victims. This entails the inappropriate contact with a child and can lead to many self esteem issues in adulthood, such as the feeling of only being worth what you can give sexually, or feeling unworthy of any kind of affection. But, in general, child abuse is defined as the intentional harming of a minor. Corporal punishment is milder than physical abuse but is defined the same way, and is simply the inflicting of pain unto someone as a punishment.