Child Abuse Prevention Month
Since 1983, the month of April is set aside as a reminder to all of the importance of protecting children and strengthening families. Dramatic stories make the news, but for every one child abuse situation reported there are many more that are not. Child abuse isn’t just about broken bones or incest. And it isn’t just about young children or the stories that horrify you. According to one state DCF website, abuse is “…the physical, sexual or emotional harm or risk of harm to a child under the age of 18 caused by a parent or other person who acts as a caregiver for the child.”
During this month we are going to be featuring a number of parenting experts addressing various aspects of child abuse. They’ll talk about preventing abuse, and healing from the effects of abuse in all its many forms. If you were (or are) a victim of child abuse in any form, please reach out. There is help. There is hope.
Our first feature article comes from Sue Scheff. Sue is an author and parenting advocate with a powerful message to get involved. This article originally appeared in the Examiner and is reprinted by permission.
Get Blue and join i-Walk to keep America’s children safe!
Please GET BLUE and join in i-Walk to keep America’s children safe! Every April, the nation unites to raise awareness and educate the public about child abuse and violence against children.
To signify the importance of the month please celebrate your children on National Love Our Children Day on April 14th.
You can unite online by participating in the virtual i-Walk and gain the support of your friends, family and your community to help keep kids safe – and you don’t even have to leave your home!
Each year, over 3 million children in our country were reported abused or neglected and through public awareness, community education, and support programs, these astounding numbers will be reduced.
Love Our Children USA™ offers you an opportunity to join this national movement in your very own community. You can be the voices for children by participating in GET BLUE campaign and i-walking to remind everyone about the importance of America’s kids, and how we can share in preventing all violence and neglect against children.
Follow Love Our Children USA on Twitter.
Register yourself as a virtual walker today!!!
Love Our Children USA™ offers you an opportunity to join this national movement in your very own community. You can be the voices for children by participating in GET BLUE campaign and i-walking to remind everyone about the importance of America’s kids, and how we can share in preventing all violence and neglect against children.
Sue Scheff, Broward County Parenting Teens Examiner
Sue Scheff is an Author and Parent Advocate. She founded Parents’ Universal Resource Experts in 2001. P.U.R.E. is an organization that helps parents with struggling teens. Learn more at www.suescheff.com
Thanks for raising awareness. It is not something I think of very often as there are no such cases that I know of in my area of influence, but I’m sure that as a life coach you see that all the time. Wow…. made me think. Thanks Ronae & to your awesome writer, Sue Scheff.
The LEARNED Preneur @ NormaDoiron. NET
Ronae, this is definitely a subject that needs to be talked about. Child abuse, in any form, is not acceptable. Thank you for raising awareness about this and for picking such informed and aware people to do your guest posts.
Thank you, Ronae and Sue for raising awareness of such an important subject. April is set aside as a reminder yet one should always be aware of what is going on every day. Children are not strong enough to protect themselves. Adults should be there to help them. My heart breaks when I hear the news of another child being broken. Thank goodness for people such as you. God bless you for all that you do.
Such a sad statistic that there is so many children affected by abuse and definitely need to educate and make people aware of it. I am involved with a local pregnancy home for young women and it is so sad to hear the stories of abuse and neglect that these young women have been through as children.
Sue, you’re right, the stories can be heart-wrenching. At the same time, there IS hope and healing if someone is willing to walk the direction of healing and not pass on their pain to the next generation!
Thank you for bringing awareness. This is critical.
So sad to realize what way too many children are experiencing in child abuse. Thanks to both of you for bringing more awareness to all of us… Tonight I am specifically praying for those who have been abused that they could have hope.
Sue, that prayer is the most powerful thing you can give someone who experiences abuse – whether they’re still a child or whether the abuse occurred many years ago. At the same time, we must all ACT in order to bring an end to abuse in any form!
I would like to thank both of you, Ronae and Sue, for bringing and raising awareness about this issue/subject. It’s really sad to know that a lot of children are experiencing this.
This is a topic that needs to be front page every single day…Thank you Ronae and Sue for all you do. Blessings~
Ronae…this is a topic that really hits home for me. When I was a child I had a teacher who emotionally abused me all year. I didn’t realize until years later that that was what it was. I was so small at the time and raised to respect adults and authority figures, that I never said a word to my parents. I just went to school terrified every day wondering what it was that I was doing so wrong…and that I must be so bad that if I told my parents they’d be angry with me. It took almost the entire school year before my mother caught on that something horribly wrong. By then, the significant damage had already been done. I’ll tell you though…I wouldn’t have wanted to be that teacher! Years later, when deciding my career path, I chose education, not because I was so inspired by a teacher’s greatness, but to prevent what happened to me. It is really important to pay attention with young children especially. They may not be able to verbalize, but the signs are there. I’m looking forward to reading your blog over the next month regarding this important topic!
Theresa, thank you for sharing your experience. Sadly, its not only young kids who don’t say anything. Even teenagers keep abuse by teachers, parents, boyfriends/girlfriends and others a secret. It is only be all of us collectively paying attention and standing up for the victims that we can help protect children of any age!
Thanks for raising the awareness Ronae!
Its incredibly sad that we need to set aside a time to think about Child Abuse Prevention…and yet, it is shocking to me how many people confess to me that they suffered child abuse, sexual and otherwise. Still, I would love to call this Love and Care for Children Month….focusing on the problem just makes it expand, yes?
Rhonda, I’m right with you on feeling sad that we even need to focus on child abuse in order to help protect children. I understand your point of not wanting to focus on the problem. At the same time, sometimes survivors of abuse in all its ugly forms desperately need to be heard and validated. Part of that validation is calling abuse by its real ugly name and shining a bright light so victims no longer believe they must suffer in silence.
Thanks, I didn’t know April was Child Abuse Awareness month.
Thank you, Ronae and Sue for raising awareness on this. I love your passion and mission. Keep up the great work!
This is something we cannot do enough to raise the awareness of. Thank you for your commitment!
Great way to raise awareness, Ronae. This is a wonderful cause. I was mentally abused all growing up. The problem wasn’t me not saying anything it was everyone knew but didn’t help me. I grew up paranoid, attention seeking, and so forth. It wasn’t till my brother got killed in a car accident that people came out of the wood work telling me their sympathies, that maybe now my parents will realize they have a daughter…but it was too late. It has taken me years to deal with it, and that is why I became a Hypnotherapist. To heal and deal with issues so deep you don’t even know they are there, and also so it doesn’t take the years of battling with yourself like it took me doing it on my own.
Hope we live long enough to see abuse removed. It is a shame to see this continue. Didn’t know about National Love Our Children Day on April 14th. Thanks for sharing an important topic.
Thanks for raising awareness of this problem! Keep up the great work!