Strong Families, Happy Kids: Parenting Tips from Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona Executive Director Claire Louge recently shared this article highlighting the good work so many are doing to connect families to what they need.
At the end of June, I got the chance to participate in a meeting of the national board of Casey Family Programs. The meeting was focused on the effect of the pandemic on children, families, and the field of child welfare. We heard from a diversity of professionals, including a pediatrician, a sheriff, a school administrator, and a researcher.
I left that meeting brimming with hope.
The pandemic has had many terrible, tragic consequences, most notably the enormous loss of life. But alongside the magnitude of the losses, the presenters shared the positive transformations the experience of the pandemic had catalyzed.
The sheriff shared that in his field, law enforcement officers were realizing that in order to best protect children and communities, it wasn’t just about responding to violence, it was about connecting families to what they needed.
The school administrator talked about the doggedly creative ways her school had kept in touch with families during lock down to make sure they were doing okay.
The pediatrician talked about an awakening in her field: that child health wasn’t only about the child. To best support children’s wellbeing, it was about making sure the parents supported.
The researcher shared the booming interest in her data on economic supports for families as a strategy for effectively protecting child wellbeing. She was overwhelmed with requests from organizations wanting to learn about the evidence for prevention.
It was absolutely full of hope.
Prevention is hope.
There are a lot of depressing dynamics, enraging injustices, and intolerable harms happening in the world. Political vitriol. Systemic failures. Violent war. If we aren’t directly experiencing it, we don’t need to look far to see it. The volume of problems we’re exposed to can make it easy to sink into cynicism, nihilism, or despair.
But there are so many brazenly good people, unrelentingly doing good things, with passion, compassion, and grit. They are motivated to prevent and stop harm, even though they know they can’t stop it all. They defy despair, sometimes in the quietest ways, as simply as showing up to work on Monday morning.
In July, we held our 30th annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference. There, I saw 900 people dedicated to making Arizona a great place to be a child. We connected, learned, and laughed. Some brave ones even sang and danced. We shared joy, and we shared hope. And that hope, I hope, will fuel us. I know it has and will fuel me.
When you feel hope, share it. Hope is the fuel of our purpose. Even a glimmer can refocus a mind, and lead to actions that will add up to create the world we want for ourselves, for others, and for all children.
Editor’s Note: look for the Strong Families, Happy Kids column in every issue of Prescott Woman Magazine. It’s designed to support parents with actionable tips and strategies they can use to create optimal environments for their children to thrive. To learn more about Prevent Child Abuse Arizona’s mission and resources visit www.pcaaz.org