April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and a local organization is working to raise awareness of the issue.
Annette VanSchoyck with Prevent Child Abuse Starke County and the Starke County Coalition Against Domestic Abuse says there are a few signs to look out for. “The yelling, the screaming, the cursing, the name-calling – if you see that, it’s definitely a red flag that that parent or that person doesn’t have real good impulse control or control of their anger,” she says, “especially if they’re doing it in a public place where other people are seeing that and hearing that and that child is then being publicly humiliated.”
She says sometimes, parents simply don’t know any other way. “It’s the way they were raised, and it’s the parenting skills that they’ve been handed down,” VanSchoyck says. “So once they learn some other more positive, less abusive parenting skills, the better off they’re going to be, and the less child abuse there’s going to be.”
VanSchoyk says there are resources available to help people learn more positive parenting techniques. “Tips for tears, tips for stress, talking about parenting being the most stressful job that you can ever have, and tips for not lashing out in anger and what you can do to stop that and take a timeout yourself as a parent to think about it, take a deep breath, to take a break, to walk out of the room, and then come back and deal with that,” VanSchoyck says.
She adds that organizations like Prevent Child Abuse Starke County seek to educate the public and prevent abuse before it happens. “A lot of programs all over the country are turning funds towards prevention, versus band-aids after the fact, and I think the earlier you start, the better,” she says. “That’s why a lot of the programs are prenatal programs and all those things are starting so much earlier because they’re learning that the sooner you start, the less likely that you are to have a problem later on down the line.”
In recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the organization is placing pinwheels at libraries and other public buildings around the area, along with informational packets. The pinwheel is the national symbol of child abuse prevention. Additionally, representatives of Prevent Child Abuse Starke County will be at the Starke County Preschool Fair on Tuesday, April 18.
VanSchoyk encourages anyone who’d like to help raise awareness of child abuse to join the group by calling 574-772-3331.
