Jeanette's Life As A Child Case Study

Children are often faced with many challenges when growing up in a dysfunctional household. Physical and emotional abuse, poverty, and neglect are major factors that impact a child’s life and development. Children in these types of environments frequently struggle to manage the challenges of everyday life. They sometimes perceive their lives as doomed, with no possibility of change. In some cases, they believe that this lack of a supportive family and the everyday challenges as normal. In most cases, they harbor feelings of fear, guilt and shame. More times than not, their perception of family and relationships are skewed. When these children are faced with challenges, it tests their ability to maintain normalcy or what they perceive as normal.
Rex Wall, Jeannette’s father, was an unemployed (for the most part) alcoholic. Rose Mary Wall was an artist and a certified teacher with a very different outlook on life. The family moved from place to place as their money was depleted by Rex’s alcohol abuse and gambling habits. Most times the children were hungry and had no food. The Wall children were always in great danger. Jeanette’s parents did not take on the responsibility of providing even the essentials for their children, and lacked the ability or the desire to demonstrate care. Rex and Rose Mary Wall, as well as their extended family, were poor examples of role models. In addition, Jeannette and her siblings were physically abused by their grandparents, an uncle, and a stranger to the family. Jeannette’s parents failed to protect their own children. The living conditions in which they lived in
She began to save up her money to help provide for her siblings in any way she could in hopes to give her and her siblings a better life. But after several times of her father asking her to borrow money, she began to understand why he was delusional. Her father did not respect that she was making money for the family. He constantly asked her for the money that she earned and he continued to gamble it away. His carelessness and flawed priorities became evident to Jeannette. This incident destroyed any remaining bond between Jeannette and her father, and it played an essential role in Jeannette’s ability to break away from her family. Jeannette realized that she must take matters into her own hands because her parents would not take responsibility for the well being of Jeannette and her siblings. This led to Jeannette’s determination to become independent and to work hard to move her siblings and herself to a safer environment. She focused on earning enough money for transportation to a better life for them. Without Jeannette and her motivation to work hard for what she knew she and her siblings needed, her family may not have survived their dysfunction. Although there are children who cannot handle the pressure of providing for and caring for themselves and siblings, Jeannette is an example of a person who was able to do that. She proves that it is possible to overcome tremendous