Make a Difference

Invest in Your Child

Make a difference in your own child’s life by making the most of the time
you spend together as a family. These simple everyday suggestions will
deepen your involvement with your child and help build their confidence.

• Compliment a child's accomplishment.
• Read a book with a child.
• Fly a kite together.
• Involve a child in preparing a special meal.
• Catch your child doing something good.
• Remind your child that your love is not dependent on schoolwork.
• Leave a love note in your child's lunch bag.
• Ask your child's opinion on an issue that affects the family.
• Go to a playground or a park together.
• Coordinate a scavenger hunt around your house.
• Tell a child about something funny that happened to you when you were a child.
• Bake and decorate a cake or make cookies together.
• Work on an art project together.
• Talk with a child about what to do in an emergency.
• Look for figures in the clouds.
• Give a new responsibility—and a new privilege—to your child.
• Practice crossing the street safely.
• Visit neighbors together, particularly if they have children.
• Donate old clothes, toys, or household items to charity together.
• Watch a video together.
• Help a child write a letter to his or her grandmother, favorite TV star, or the President.
• Have a picnic in the yard or the park.
• Choose something to count (trucks, dogs). Take a walk and keep track of how many you see.
• Plan an outing to a free outdoor concert or exhibit.
• Give your child a hug.
• Plant a flower or some herbs together.
• Do a puzzle together.
• Tell your child that you love him or her.

Lend Your Voice

At the Prevention Center, we strive to serve at-risk children and families with programs that break the generational cycle of child abuse and family violence.

Recognizing a child in trouble and in need of protection often goes beyond words. Though the signs of abuse are often visual, there may also be a feeling that something isn’t quite right. Child abuse can be hard to distinguish, but we hope that everyone takes the responsibility to pay attention to the children in their community and looks out for heir best interest.

Every child has a story to tell. It may be about their trip to the zoo, or the antics of their new puppy. Often, the most important stories are the one’s children don’t share.

If you suspect that a child is in trouble, please help by calling Child Protective Services at (714) 940-1000 or (800) 422-4453. You can choose to remain anonymous if you prefer.

Some possible signs of child abuse and neglect are:

• Unexplained bruises and welts
• Behavioral extremes
• Unbelievable or inconsistent explanations for injuries
• Unusual shyness or wariness of physical contact
• Cruel behavior
• Poor hygiene
• Untreated injury or illness
• Assuming adult responsibilities
• Sudden decline in school performance or truancy
  

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