Child maltreatment takes many forms, including physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and emotional or physical neglect. In the United States, between 2.7 and 3.6 million cases of child maltreatment are reported, and approximately 800,000 cases are substantiated each year. Substantiated maltreatment harms one in every 90 children between the ages and 2 and 5 years of age annually.

Although certain cultural conditions and values--poverty and social isolation among them--are almost universally harmful, some practices that are considered maltreatment in one culture or in one time period are acceptable in others.

How can one reconcile their own personal beliefs or attitudes about raising children when they encounter behaviors that are considered maltreatment in the United States, but perceived as acceptable in other cultures?