There must be more we can do to stop child abuse

The last year has produced some of the most brutal and revolting stories of child abuse I can remember -- babies beaten so badly their tendons pulled away from their bones, burned with cigarettes, flung against walls, kicked to death because they weren't walking. How a human being could do that to a toddler -- to his or her own child -- is something most of us will never understand.

It is tempting to avoid these stories, to go home, hug our own kids and feel it's the most anybody can do.

But is there a sliver of space in which to intercede -- that interval between a child being beaten and a bad moment being passed by, between an adult reacting violently and an adult being able to handle the frustrations of child raising without hurting a child?

Here are three possibilities:

Have more places where a parent could get quick, temporary help or respite. In many abuse cases, a single parent ended up leaving a child with someone he or she didn't trust. Is there a way that communities, social service agencies, religious organizations or joint efforts by all three could offer safe, well-supervised, emergency childcare? Such services exist out there in pieces, but is there a way for a more integrated effort? It's one of those ideas that sounds impractical and impossible until somebody actually does it.

Find more ways to impart good child-development information. In many abuse cases, adults clearly lacked understanding on what young children can do and can't do. Trying to force potty training, for example, simply doesn't jibe with toddlers' development. Adults often view children's resistance as being disobedient, but it's not only normal and healthy behavior, it's necessary. Sure, some parents who abuse may be the last ones to avail themselves of the information, but the more they hear good advice from grandparents, uncles and aunts, friends and co-workers, the more likely they may be to follow it.

Work even harder to get teens to postpone pregnancy. This week a couple -- both 19 -- pleaded guilty to child abuse that left a 5-month-old with a fractured skull, cigarette burns, broken ribs and a torn tongue. Many of the worst abuse cases have involved teen-age parents, boyfriends or other caregivers. Any adult can be abusive, but adolescents who know little about child development or are easily overwhelmed by the needs of a child are at high risk for becoming abusers.