Prevent Child Abuse Month

👶👧👱‍♂️ You may have seen blue pinwheels popping up around your community. Why? Because April is Prevent Child Abuse Month. The color for child abuse awareness is blue and the symbol for child abuse prevention is the blue pinwheel. The pinwheel is a symbol of hope, safety, health, and most importantly happiness. It symbolizes efforts to change the way our community thinks about child abuse prevention. 

The future prosperity of our nation depends on our ability to foster the health and well-being of the next generation. We now know that the basic architecture of the human brain is constructed through an ongoing process that begins before birth and continues into adulthood. When you are building a house, you go step by step, beginning with a strong foundation. Just like a house, a strong foundation in children’s early years increases the probability of positive outcomes. A weak foundation increases the odds of later difficulties.

Experiencing a chronic stressful condition such as neglect or abuse is what scientists call toxic stress, can disrupt the developing brain architecture. This can lead to lifelong difficulties in learning, memory, and self-regulation. Children who are exposed to serious early stress develop an exaggerated stress response that, over time, weakens their defense system against diseases, from heart disease to diabetes and depression. That’s why it is of the utmost importance to protect and nurture our children to the best of our abilities. 

Join us in supporting this noble cause and plant a virtual pinwheel today: https://pinwheels.preventchildabuse.org/

“Together, we can prevent child abuse, America…because childhood lasts a lifetime.”
#preventchildabuse