a public service announcement today

-

 April is Child Abuse Prevention month.  It has been Child Abuse Prevention month as long as I can remember.  This is something that is very important to me, and a big chunk of what I do professionally and personally.....strive to prevent child abuse.  

Children deserve to be safe, healthy and loved.  They deserve to be in relationships with caring adults who are supportive and who strive to make their lives good.  Sometimes this looks like foster care and/or adoption.  Sometimes it looks like education, sports, dance, tumbling, lego club at the library, Spanish club after school and so much more.  Sometimes it looks like teaching parents of kids birth to three how to care for their kiddos in ways that build trust and secure attachment instead of fear and isolation and independence.....child abuse prevention looks like so many things.  

Child abuse prevention may be me noticing the kids that walk by my house to and from school everyday.  Do they look safe?  do they look happy?  do they have friends?  do they have a warm coat?  a backpack?  decent shoes?   If I am at the park do I notice children there and wonder the same?  Are there kids at school who don't want to go home, avoid being home, run away from home?  What are they running from?  Wondering and asking and being aware is all a part of child abuse prevention.  

Another aspect of child abuse prevention is supporting parents, teachers, daycare workers and other caregivers like grandparents, aunts and uncles, etc. who care for children....asking how they are doing....offering a helping hand or a meal or a break or help paying for a sitter, anything that sends the message that we understand that caring for children is hard work.  We all need help once in awhile.  No one is expected to raise children independently.....it is always done best in relationship with others.  

Kids thrive on attention, affection, routine, safety and play.  We all know how hard this pandemic has been on people.  It has been hard on everyone......but the effects on our kids may be more subtle.  It may be harder to identify hurting kids after they have been isolated for months and months.....so help me raise awareness and notice the kids in our sphere influence and do our best to protect and care for them.  Thanks!  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Superbowl musings, Niki-style

-
 Last week I walked dogs in unexpectedly warm late winter afternoons.  I realized that when I don't walk regularly it matters.  This week I wanted to walk again but I am such a wimp and if it is cold or windy or rainy or all of those things put together, I don't want to walk outside.  I spend my work days in and out and in and out and cold and warm and cold and warm.....but today I needed to walk.  It was cold and windy and rainy.   I started my walking app that tells me when to walk slow, speed up, slow down, speed up and eventually cool down.  In my home office space in front of a cooking competition.  I looked ridiculous walking in place, dancing and prancing, moving foward and backward and working up a sweat but I got it done.  I sure did.   I got groceries because we were out of milk and I got food for "superbowl Sunday" which is not that different from any other Sunday evening.  My parents come over and we have snacks and drinks and then we eat together and clea
Read more

Family

-
Image
  These are my people.  My big kids gifted me for Mother's Day with a photo shoot organized and paid for.  It has always been hard for me to schedule family photos so this gift is extra special.  We did the photos late summer/early fall.  Our smiles do not reveal how hot or windy it was that day.  Yet and still we managed to get some really great pictures, thanks to our sweet and competent photographer...Cassie Beth.   Here is the thing.  This photo tells so many stories...so so many stories.  Each of the 9 of us could be a story, a novel on our own.  Then if you pair up any of the 9 with another, there are more stories to tell, and in groups of guys or girls still other stories to tell.  Looking at Roger and I....chapters and chapters of stories...and separate us out each of us is also a story.  Our lives are stories. I have told my kids over and over that their lives matter.  They were created by God to do something in this life that will expand His kingdom, give Him Glory and ma
Read more

mid-summer check in on being Aware

-
 I remembered today that I had been doing a monthly reflection since January.  I missed June...and apparently July.  Here we are on the second day of August and I find myself aware of it...aware of how June flew by and July slipped by and now I'm settling into August....aware.  June was a full month of ball games and volleyball competition and vacation.  It was also the last month of my fiscal year of my work as a public health nurse and that means there are lots of reports due and documentation needed to make sure we get funded again.  June was a lot and it was awesome...and hot....and busy.   July slowed down a bit with more nights at home, more lazy pool afternoons and a break from the heat.  We caught fireflies and we cooked more meals at home.  We decided to tackle a huge project long overdue and tore out carpetting in our main living area.  This carpet has been there for over 40 years.  It was gross and disgusting....suffice it to say that I am very, very aware of how unsettl
Read more