Continuing for the Cause: Child Abuse Awareness Month Published March 28, 2016 By Ruth Sunde 92nd Medical Group Family Advocacy Office FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- The Fairchild Air Force Base Family Advocacy Office will be sponsoring activities commemorating April's Child Abuse Awareness Month. The month's events include a visit from Mrs. Kerri Handley, from Lutheran Community Services, who will be addressing parents on how to protect their children from sexual predators Tuesday, April 26, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.at the Airman and Family Readiness Center. Family Advocacy will be publishing a calendar for April with activities that parents and children can do together to enhance their relationship. The calendars will be available at various locations throughout the base including the Child Development Center, the Airman and Family Readiness Center, Balfour Beatty Community Center and Michael Anderson Elementary School. The biggest endeavor will be the base's annual Diaper Drive to benefit children in our local community. Last year over 1,500 diapers were collected and donated to Spokane's Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery. The goal this year is to donate 2,000 diapers to this worthwhile cause. Look for donation boxes throughout the base, including the 92nd Medical Group, the Child Development Center, the 141st ARW Airman and Family Services building, Michael Anderson Elementary and other locations. The first federal child protection legislation, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, was signed by President Nixon on January 31, 1974, and marked the beginning of a new national response to the problem of child abuse and neglect. In 1983, President Reagan proclaimed April to be National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a tradition that continues to this day. Child abuse can be negated by doing any number of things. One way is by increasing awareness of appropriate ages and stages of a child's development and what is realistic for their age and capabilities. There are a number of resources on base that can help parents discover what an appropriate milestone is for their child. Children need safety just as adults do, and that includes living in safe conditions within the home. Parents should step back and assess the home's living conditions, including a small child's accessibility to medications, lighters or caustic substances. We can't underestimate the effect domestic violence or parental conflict has upon a child. Many children internalize that conflict, and may not recognize the conflict is part of the adult's dynamic, and has nothing to do with them. Sometimes an older child may step in to protect a parent and be injured in the process. For more information on the activities, classes or other resources, you may contact Ruth Sunde at (509) 247-5409.