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March 2016
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five ways to prevent
child
abuse
be a nurturing parent.
child
ren
need to know that they are special and loved. help a friend, neighbor or relative. being a parent isn?t easy and can be isolating. offer to take care of
child
ren
so parents can rest. pay attention to what the
child
ren
around you say and do.
child
ren
need to know that someone is looking out for them. host or sponsor family events like health fairs or a block party. having fun together builds friendships and a sense of community.
child
abuse
often happens in isolation. volunteer as a coach or mentor. one caring adult can make a difference in a
child
?s life. 1 2 3 4 5 march 2016 | brparents.com 33 the effects of adverse
child
hood experiences a landmark study by the centers for disease control has shown that adverse
child
hood experi- ences (aces)?including
abuse
, neglect, family dysfunctions such as addictions or domestic violence, and other traumas? affect brain development and can negatively impact survivors throughout their lives. ?e study shows a strong link between aces and mental illness, physi- cal illness, drug
abuse
, alcohol- ism, suicide and other social ills. in adulthood, allison has been able to build a good life in baton rouge. but the
abuse
she suf- fered throughout her
child
hood and youth left her with horrific memories that haunt her to this day. for her similarly
abuse
d younger sister, the story has been much worse?her entire adult life has been marked by drug
abuse
and crime. ending the culture of silence as a volunteer with prevent
child
abuse
louisiana (pcal), allison continues to talk about what happened to her. she hopes that by telling her story, she will help keep other
child
ren
safe. ?it wasn?t talked about back then, especially the sexual
abuse
,? al- lison says. ?it wasn?t on tv; it wasn?t in movies. ?ere wasn?t anything during the time i was growing up that would have been there for me.? ?
child
abuse
is preventable when the silence is stopped,? she con- tinues. ?when
child
ren
feel com- fortable telling someone and know that they will be believed, and that somebody is going to help them, that?s the most impor- tant thing.?
child
abuse
is preventable ??e biggest thing we want the public to understand is that we all have a role to play in
child
abuse
prevention and that it can be prevented,? says amanda brunson, executive director of pcal. ?e mission of pcal is to pre- vent the
abuse
and neglect of our state?s
child
ren
. in order to accomplish this, pcal provides support and education to par- ents, professionals, and the com- munity at large to raise aware- ness of how we can all help keep our community?s
child
ren
safe. support and education for all caring adults pcal supports parents through kidline (1-800-
child
ren
), a toll-free, anonymous, confidential helpline available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. parents who are feeling overwhelmed or in need of support can call kidline to receive free counseling over the phone, parenting tips for
child
ren
of different ages, and information on local resources. pcal also of- fers parenting classes through the family nurturing center of louisiana. in conjunction with darkness to light, pcal presents stewards of
child
ren
, a program offered in- person or online to teach adults how to help prevent
child
sexual
abuse
. stewards of
child
ren
is not just for parents and profes- sionals, but for all caring and re- sponsible adults who would like to know how to help protect the
child
ren
in their communities. pinwheels for prevention the blue pinwheel is the national symbol for
child
abuse
prevention. every april?
child
abuse
prevention month?pcal plants ?gardens? of bright blue pinwheels across the state to raise awareness of the role we all play in supporting
child
ren
and families. this april, pcal and their volunteers and supporters will be planting blue pinwheel gardens in baton rouge, hammond, new orleans, houma, thibodaux, lafayette, sulphur and lake charles? and anywhere else someone would like to plant one. planting pinwheels is a fun, positive way for adults and
child
ren
alike to help raise awareness about how to keep kids healthy, happy and safe. to order pinwheels, visit ? pcal.org
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