ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Rock Island, Ill. (April 9, 2013) -- April is Child Abuse Prevention Month across the Army because "Protecting Children is Everyone's Job!" supporting Rock Island Arsenal's child abuse prevention efforts is as easy as 1 -- 2 -- 3.
1. Enhance the protective factors in your own family and support them in others. Protective Factors are those actions which have been shown by research to prevent abuse from ever occurring in the first place. To show you how easy this can be, below are the six Protective Factors and a few ideas on what you can do to enhance each of them.
• Nurturing and Attachment
* Take a few minutes at the end of each day to connect with your kids.
* Find ways to engage the kids while completing everyday tasks.
• Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development
* Explore parenting questions with your family doctor, child's teacher, family, or friends.
* Subscribe to a magazine, website, or online newsletter about child development.
• Parental Resilience
* Take quiet time to reenergize: Take a bath, write, sing, laugh, play, drink a cup of tea.
* Do some physical exercise: Walk, stretch, do yoga, life weights, dance.
• Social Connections
* Participate in neighborhood activities
* Join a playgroup
• Concrete Support
* Make a list of people or places to call for support.
* Dial 2-1-1 to find out about organizations that support families in Lawton/Fort Sill.
• Social and Emotional Competence of Children
* Provide regular routines, especially for young children.
* Talk with your children about the importance of feelings.
* Teach and encourage children to solve problems in an age-appropriate way.
2. Recognize the Signs of all four types of abuse: Physical, emotional, sexual and neglect. A few of which include:
• The child shows sudden change in behavior or school performance.
• The child has not received help for physical or medical problems brought to the parents' attention.
• The child lacks adult supervision.
• The child is overly compliant, passive, or withdrawn.
• The child is overly non-compliant, acts out, belligerent.
3. If you suspect abuse, Report It, because "Protecting Children is Everyone's Job!"
• Rock Island Arsenal Police (Reporting Point of Contact) (309) 782-6116
• Iowa Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-362-2178
• Illinois Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-252-2873
• National Child Abuse Hotline 1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453)
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