The neglect and abuse of children, nowadays, is considered to be a very topical and frequent theme. Children have been neglected and abused for centuries but awareness of this problem has been very low, and these procedures were once considered to be the normal part of child rearing practice, despite the fact that they can leave a number of traumas and consequences in their development. Neglect of children manifests as a lack of care for a child's needs, lack of basic care and nursing for the children by adults, theirguardians. Child abuse involves various forms of physical, emotional and sexual abuse that, like neglect, leavemany consequences in the child's development. By involving achild in an early childhood education and care facility, educators are becoming responsible for the welfare of children. Educators can recognize an abused or neglected child and, in cooperation with professional colleagues, react, report violence and act with adequate approaches. The aim of this work is to explain the types of neglect and abuse, identify their causes and consequences affecting the child's development, stress the importance of the role of educators in preventing of violence and sensitising the society to respond to violence and protect children's rights.