God Bless the Children - Shout It From The Rooftops

To say that I have no tolerance for child abuse is a HUGE understatement.  With all the news coming out about high-profile (alleged) child molesters, (See Sandusky Penn State Univ. and Bernie Fine Syracuse Univ. )  I encourage parents to believe their children and to stand with and support them as they report and recover from abuse.


Hopefully you will never need these resources, but just in case, I've included some additional resources, below.   




Did you know:  One out of every four girls will be sexually abused before the age of 18.  20% are under the age of 8.  More than 90% of abusers are someone the child knows and trusts.  For more information, click on:   


Prevent_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm


Should you need information on how to protect your own children, or how to report sexual abuse, or even look up a name on the Sexual Abuse Registry, links are included at the bottom of this post.


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"God Bless The Children"

As sad as it is I think every one of us know somebody that has been sexually abused.  It is rampant in our society.  Who molests children?  Some mistakenly think it's always a "stranger".  Parents teach their children to not talk to strangers.  Unfortunately, you can find child molesters among your neighbors, church goers, and other trusted friends or colleagues.  People who commit these heinous acts can be well educated, highly accomplished and otherwise kind, loving and trustworthy.  It's always a shock when one discovers that the child down the street, the child next door, your own child or grandchild was molested by a friend, neighbor, or family member.  The emotions that fill you up inside upon discovering someone you love has been molested are those of shock, denial, sick to your stomach, anger, sick to your stomach (again), an intense urge to bring harm to the perpetrator, and ultimately a drive to rally your children around you and almost manically do whatever needs to be done to protect them.

Rather than going on about this, I will just finish by saying that we need to teach our children to NEVER KEEP QUIET ABOUT ABUSE.  If someone you know is being abused, neglected, and/or molested teach them while they're young to scream it from the rooftops if needs be.  The only way to stop from being abused is to get it out in the open.  If the abuser threatens to harm the child even more, or harm the child's family, do everything they have to in order to get away, tell a friend, teacher, or parent.  Get help no matter what.  Let your children know that there is nothing they can say or do that will make you love them less.  It is your job to love and protect them.  Put your own self-interest behind you and do everything you can think of (within the law) to keep them safe.  

Last, but certainly not least, pray that God will bless the children with strength and courage to get through the trauma of being abused.  Pray that you also, as the parent, guardian, friend, or teacher will have the strength and courage to always put the child first.  There is no justification for not doing all within your power to protect them and help them to not only survive, but to recover.  

Thank you for indulging me as I stand on my soap box.  If there is something else you need that isn't listed below, feel free to contact me at: CherishYourChildren@hotmail.com.  Now, for those resources I promised:

7_Steps_to_Protecting_Our_Children_from_Sexual_Abuse.htm


Get_Help_Related_to_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm


Reporting_Child_Sexual_Abuse_to_the_Authorities.htm


To search the Sexual Abuse Registry, click on: Sex_Offender_Registry.htm and it will direct you to the National and State Registry's.


Join the Movement to End Child Sexual Abuse (CSA). For more information, click on the following link:
Join_the_Movement_to_End_Child_Sexual_Abuse




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