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PAGE 8A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. APRIL 1.2021
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month
North Georgia Family
Partners along with Prevent
Child Abuse Georgia recog
nizes the importance of com
munity-based support for all
children and families during
National Child Abuse Pre
vention (CAP) Month in
April.
The theme of this year’s
awareness and impact cam
paign is “Growing a Better
Tomorrow for All Children,
Together.”
We can build healthier,
safer, and thriving communi
ties if we take the same ap
proach to raising families that
we do to tending a commu
nity garden on a shared piece
of land. Too often, our soci
ety thinks of raising healthy
children as a parent or care
giver’s responsibility alone.
In reality, we all benefit
when groups of people work
together to collectively care
for children, who grow up to
become successful, con
tributing adults. “Research
shows that positive child
hood experiences in nurtur
ing environments provide
fertile ground for physical
and mental health, learning,
and social skills,” explained
Dr. Melissa Merrick, presi
dent, and CEO of Prevent
Child Abuse America. “By
preventing child abuse and
neglect we aim to holistically
improve the lives of all fam
ilies and the communities
they live in.”
The risk to our nation’s
children for experiencing
child abuse and neglect in
times of extreme stress and
uncertainty is quite high.
COVID-19 has added stres
sors to the lives of parents
and caregivers, such as loss
of employment, loss of in
come due to lack of paid
leave, school and business
closings that necessitate new
childcare and homeschool
arrangements, and food inse
curity.
We also know that these
hardships disproportionately
impact families of color. Al
though physical distancing
alters the way families so
cially connect and interact
with community services, we
must ensure these supportive
resources are still in place to
help strengthen Georgia's
families.
Prevent Child Abuse
Georgia recommends the
following ways that people
everywhere can dig in and
help raise awareness and
impact virtually during
this year’s CAP Month:
Family Matters
Fostering emotional intelligence
By Mary Migliaro
Parent Mentor
Emotional intelligence is
defined as the capacity to be
aware of, control, and ex
press one's emotions, and to
handle interpersonal relation
ships judiciously and empa-
thetically. In short, emotional
intelligence is the ability to
deal with other people suc
cessfully.
According to Daniel
Goleman, psychologist and
author of Emotional Intelli
gence: Why It Can Matter
More Than IQ, there are five
main elements of emotional
intelligence:
Self-Awareness
This is the ability to rec
ognize and understand one’s
moods, motivations, and
abilities as well as the effects
they have on others. An emo
tionally mature person has
confidence, possesses the
ability to laugh at them self
and their mistakes, and the
awareness of how they are
perceived by others.
Self-Regulation
This is the ability to con
trol one’s impulses, the abil
ity to think before you
speak/react, and the ability to
express yourself appropri
ately. It also means being
able to take responsibility for
your actions, being able to
adapt to change, and the abil
ity to respond appropriately
to other people’s irrational
emotions or behavior.
Motivation
This is having an interest
in learning and self-improve
ment. It is having the strength
to keep going when there are
obstacles in life. It is setting
goals and following through
with them.
Empathy
This is the ability to un
derstand other people’s emo
tions and reactions. Empathy
also includes being interested
in other people’s worries and
concerns, anticipating some
one’s emotional response to a
problem or situation, and
why people act the way they
do.
Social Skills
This is the ability to pick
up on jokes, sarcasm, main
taining friendships and rela
tionships, and finding
common ground with others.
An emotionally mature per
son is someone who has good
communication skills, good
time management, the ability
to be a leader or manage a
group of people, and the abil
ity to resolve difficult situa
tions or conflicts using
negotiation or persuasion.
Why is emotional intelli
gence in children important?
A particularly powerful study
tested school-aged children
on self-control and con
ducted follow-up studies on
those children in their 30s.
The study demonstrated that
self-control predicted success
better than IQ, socioeco
nomic status, and family en
vironment. Children with
good self-control were also
healthier, made more money,
and were less likely to have
criminal records or trouble
with alcohol.
Dr. John Gottman, psy
chologist and author of Rais
ing an Emotionally
Intelligent Child, has identi
fied five steps parents can use
to become an “emotion
coach” for their child. They
include:
• Step 1: Be aware of
your child’s emotions.
Parents who emotion
coach are aware of their own
feelings and sensitive to the
emotions present in their
children.
• Step 2: See emotions as
an opportunity for connec
tion and teaching.
Children’s emotions are
not an inconvenience or a
challenge. They are an op
portunity to connect with
your child and coach them
through a challenging feel
ing.
• Step 3: Listen and val
idate the feelings.
Give your child your full
attention while you listen to
their emotional expression.
Reflect what you hear, thus
validating what they’re see
ing and experiencing.
• Step 4: Label their
emotions.
After you have fully lis
tened, help your child de
velop an awareness of and
vocabulary for their emo
tional expression.
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• Wear blue on Thursday,
April 1, National Wear Blue
Day, to show support for
children and families. In
clude the #WearBlue-
Day2021 and
#GrowingBetterTogether in
your posts.
• Join your region's efforts
to implement Georgia’s Child
Abuse and Neglect Preven
tion Plan that includes ways
individuals, communities,
workplaces, and others can
get involved.
• Participate in a training
on preventing, recognizing,
and responding to child
abuse using the Darkness to
Light: Stewards of Children,
Connections Matter, or Man
dated Reporter Training.
• Encourage families you
know to call the 1-800-
CHILDREN (1-800-244-
5373) Helpline to talk to
in children
• Step 5: Help your child
problem-solve with limits.
All emotions are accept
able, but all behaviors are
not. Help your child cope
with his or her emotions by
developing problem-solving
skills. Limit the expression to
appropriate behaviors. This
involves helping your child
set goals and generate solu
tions to reach those goals.
Building emotional intel
ligence now will help your
child be a good manager,
good leader, be able to con
tribute to a team environment
personally and professionally
and more importantly pos
sess the ability to develop
strong, connected relation
ships now and later in life.
[Mary Migliaro, M.Ed. is
an educator and Parent Men
tor. She may be contacted at
marym igl iaro@aol. com.]
trained professionals who
will connect them with sup
portive programs in their
area. You can also search for
local support services online
through the Georgia Re
source Map at www.PCA-
GeorgiaHelpline.org.
We all share a responsibil
ity for the physical, emo
tional, and mental well-being
of children and their families.
[Insert Organization] and
PCA Georgia encourages
everyone in Georgia to help
strengthen families in their
community this April. For
more ways to get involved in
CAP Month, please visit
www.ngfpartners.org or call
us at 706-253-6488.
Are you one of the 100?
Join us for our Blue Dress Campaign 2021
‘What do you do? It’s easy!
*
*
b
Call NGFP at 706.253.6488 and let us know you're on
board.
Decide if you want to be a team of one or many.
There is no wrong way.
Start collecting money.
Celebratory Tea May 7, 2021 2:00-4:00 pm
Holly Hill Manor, Talking Rock, GA
Purchase your ticket for $25.00 to the
Celebration Tea by going to
www.NGFPartners.org and following the links.
Start looking for you blue dress or ensemble.
Awards for:
* Most money raised.
* Most striking and unusual blue ensemble.
)le.
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