RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
The efforts of Randolph's Family Advocacy Program are being showcased throughout April in observance of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Displays are set up at the base library and at the 12th Medical Group, and the FAP will participate in the Child Development Center's Spring Fling April 17 and the area-wide KidsDay in the Park April 18 at San Pedro Springs Park.
Family Advocacy Intervention Specialist Mitzi Wood, who is serving as volunteer chair for KidsDay in the Park, said Randolph will have a strong presence at the event.
"It's a family-type event that draws kids from all over San Antonio and the surrounding area," she said. "All the community-based child-helping organizations are involved. People from Randolph are also volunteering."
Child abuse prevention is a year-round mission for the Family Advocacy Program, which offers an array of classes as well as individual counseling to mothers and fathers intent on improving their parenting skills. Strong families support Air Force readiness and retention.
One class now under way, Precious Minds New Connections, assists parents who are rearing the youngest of children -- from newborns to 3-year-olds. Another session will begin in July.
Ms. Wood said the Precious Minds class is pivotal because it helps parents deal with their children's earliest developmental issues.
"It's an eight-week course that's pretty intensive," she said. "The focus is to understand how to communicate with your child in a more effective way. It helps parents - it actually empowers them - to be more involved with the development of their child."
Ms. Wood, who teaches the class along with Debra Spencer, the New Parent Support Program nurse, and Amy Welch of the Airman and Family Readiness Flight, said the course helps parents see that their child's behavior, even when not at its best, is actually "very developmentally appropriate."
She said the first three years of life are so important because it's when children should bond with their parents and others.
"This is the critical age," Ms. Wood said. "Babies only develop because of contact with someone else. They need human interaction. It's what makes them grow."
She said children who have been nurtured from a young age communicate better with their parents.
Ms. Wood said understanding your child's temperament is one of the keys of successful parenting.
"Your child will upset you, but if you understand your child, you'll know there are reasons why they do what they do," she said. "They're not little adults."
Ms. Wood said parenting "should be about raising a child who will function in the world appropriately."
"Let's treat our children the way we'd like to be treated," she said. "To get respect, you have to give it."
Family Advocacy personnel respond to reports of family violence, but Ms. Wood said they're in the business of prevention, so parents should seek their help to improve their skills.
"It's OK to ask for help," she said. "We didn't come with parenting manuals."
Another class, Home Alone, will be offered Thursday from 5-6 p.m. in the Airman and Family Readiness Center ballroom. Training in Home Alone prepares children ages 10 and older to be left unattended in base quarters for short periods of time and addresses the Supervision of Children on Randolph AFB policy, safety skills and telephone-answering techniques and provides other helpful information.
Other FAP resources include the Dads 101 Boot Camp, various workshops and the New Parent Support Program, which provides home visitation, education and resources to expectant parents and parents of children up to age 3.
For more information on the Family Advocacy Program, call Ms. Wood at 652-3828.