Orange City, Iowa — April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. Iowa State University Extension’s Mackenzie De Jong is on the Sioux County Planning Council. She says they are trying to promote the Prevent Child Abuse America materials this month.
She says that they’re focusing on ways to encourage positive behavior as a means to help prevent child abuse. She says one of the resources she found had “101 Ways to Celebrate Your Family,” which she narrowed down into three categories: Hobbies and activities; Family Connections and History; and Community Engagement.
She gives us some community engagement ideas.
The national organization, Prevent Child Abuse (PCA) America’s theme this year is “Do more of what you love to create #greatchildhoods.” For more information, she suggests visiting scienceofparenting.org.
Prevent Child Abuse America President and CEO Dan Duffy says “While our goal is to help create great childhoods for all children, it’s important that parents get the support they need in order to do so. Despite the best intentions, parenting can be challenging. We want to help people understand that it’s possible to do the things they love—cooking, making art or music, reading, or playing sports—and, at the same time, help families and their community thrive.”
