April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and this month and throughout the year, the School Community Action Team encourages all individuals and organizations to play a role in making communities a better place for children and families.
By ensuring that parents have the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to care for their children, they help promote children’s social and emotional well-being and prevent child maltreatment within families and communities. Research shows that when parents possess six protective factors, the risk of neglect and abuse diminishes and optimal outcomes for children, youth, and families are promoted.
The six protective factors are: nurturing and attachment, knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development, parental resilience, social connections, concrete supports for parents, social and emotional developmental wellbeing.
April is a time to acknowledge the important role that communities play in protecting children. Everyone’s participation is critical. Focusing on ways to build and promote the protective factors, in every interaction with children and families, is the best thing our community can do to prevent child maltreatment and promote optimal child development.
“Pinwheels for Prevention” campaign will occur throughout April. The pinwheel was introduced as the national symbol for child abuse prevention in 2008. Pinwheels will be passed out to children in school and be displayed at local businesses to help remind kids and adults about the important issues of child safety and child abuse prevention. When seen, the pinwheels will serve as a call to action and an opportunity for community members to recognize that we all play a role in children’s lives.
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