The Week of the Young Child (WOYC) draws to a close today with Family Friday. Today we celebrate families and the role they play in a child’s development.
Family members are a child’s first and most important teachers. During the month of April we’ve been focusing on Strengthening Families, an evidence-based approach to prevent child abuse and neglect. Strengthening Families focuses on building up a family’s strengths to create a healthy and safe environment for children to develop and thrive. This approach identifies five protective factors that, when present, reduce the risk of abuse or neglect:
1. Parent Resilience
2. Social Connections
3. Knowledge of Parenting & Child Development
4. Concrete Support in Times of Need
5. Healthy Social & Emotional Development of Children
Visit alaskachildrenstrust.org to learn more about Strengthening Families and to find activities to promote each of the protective factors.
What makes your family strong? Share your story with us on Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #woyc18.