News : April is Child Abuse Prevention Month

The Benton County Family Nurturing Council invites all Benton County residents to join us in recognizing and bringing attention to this very important topic. Every one of us can play a role in protecting children and strengthening families.

The theme of this year’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month is “Making Meaningful Connections”. The connections can be as simple as knowing your neighbors and/or volunteering to read to kids at the library or school. Call a young mother during the day to say hi and be a listening ear. Be the neighbor or church member who takes the kids for a couple hours to give mom a chance to soak in the tub or do some things at home uninterrupted. Take your grandchildren to the park or build a snow man in the back yard to let them use up some energy. Offer to pick up and take kids you know to story time at the library or to other organized community activities for children. These grass roots efforts are where protection begins and the best place for stressed families to find understanding and help.

So be thinking of families you know and how it is you can be a support to them. Protecting children should not be left to some governmental agency. It is the responsibility of all of us. All it takes is paying attention and willingness to spend a little time.

For more information about the Benton County Family Nurturing Council or Child Abuse Prevention you can contact Sandy Hamilton at sandy.hamilton@vscsd.org or Jan Moffitt at jmoffitt@youngparentsnetwork.org. Be sure to look for our ad about Child Abuse Prevention month on the Palace Theatre screen in April.