KENTUCKY — As the latest federal Child Maltreatment Report shows, Kentucky no longer has the highest child victimization rate in the nation, but trends still show the urgent need to support families so every child can grow up healthy, safe, and able to thrive.
Shannon Moody is the Chief Officer of Strategic Initiatives at Kentucky Youth Advocates, which participated in co-hosting a series of events throughout April, including several Positive Parenting events with community partners across the state as part of the Face It Movement campaign.
"We have resources like 10 free things to connect with your child. So ideas for activities that are cheap, in order to really continue to build that bond. With your child regardless of age. We have a brochure related to connecting. It's called Connect and it gives some ideas and tips on how to really combat that isolation of parenting and care giving and get out and connect with other parents or peers who may be dealing with some of the similar issues. We also have some resources related to body safety and body boundaries. It's really important as our kids grow and learn that they know the appropriate names of their body parts and also can understand the difference between a secret and a surprise so that when you are having conversations with your child, you feel comfortable and also prepared to talk about how to say no if you don't want to have physical contact with someone or how to really create space and boundaries for yourself as an individual," explains Moody.
You can watch the full In Focus segment in the player above.