I couldn't agree more, David. I believe neglect of child's emotional needs is the most widespread type of child neglect.
I also agree, that most parents do so not because they are malicious but merely due to lack of parental skills. In a perfect world, parents would have learned those skills from their own parents, but in reality the system is not working like that anymore. Damn, how on the earth a girl or a boy who grew up in a violent household, would know how to become a loving mom or dad? If child grows up witnessing violence and humiliation they become child's normalcy and the child reproduces this normalcy with his/her own childern. Vicious cycle of violence.
That is why the world needs many social workers and easily accessable and free parental education programs, especially for people from disadvantaged backgrounds who have experienced a childhood trauma. To be a good parent is not a gift, it's a skill that can be learned.