“HOW CAN I TELL?”

A NEW TOOL TO HELP NEW ZEALANDERS RECOGNISE AND ACT ON CHILD ABUSE

Written by Anthea Simcock
Published by CPS

For every child that’s killed or hurt through child abuse, there is an adult saying; “I was worried about that child, but I didn’t know what to do.”

“How Can I Tell?” gives all New Zealanders the skills to recognise when a child or a family is in need of help is the aim of the new book, “How Can I Tell?”

The book also includes advice for what appropriate actions to take if people suspect abuse.

As the subtitle of the book indicates, this book will help New Zealanders recognise when a child or family needs help. It has been designed to be easy to read and carry, to show the positive side of protecting children and at the same time to contain lots of helpful information.

Every Zealander has a responsibility to recognise when a family or child needs help and “How Can I Tell?” will assist. It's not about telling tales or being a nosy neighbour.

Letting your child starve to death - Lea-Sophie's story

I just found out about a shocking incident that happened in Germany a few weeks back where a 5 year old girl "Lea-Sophie" was found starved to death. The piece of information that nearly made me sick was that she only weighed 7Kgs (15 pounds) when she was found - that's actually less than my 6-month old son weighs.

Here's the excert from a story that ran in the international press:

"The parents of Lea-Sophie were arrested this week on charges of neglect after allegedly failing to adequately feed their daughter for months on end. She died on Tuesday, Nov. 20, after being admitted to a hospital in Schwerin, weighing just over seven kilos (15 pounds) -- three times less than an average child her age.

Media Release - Religious groups to tackle child abuse

The following Media Release was sent to us by a DIYFather.com contributor, Dave Moskovitz.

RELIGIOUS GROUPS TO TACKLE CHILD ABUSE
The Wellington Council of Christians and Jews is holding a public symposium to address the issue of Child Abuse in our communities. Cindy Kiro, the Commissioner for Children, and Lesley Max, chair of the Pacific Foundation will speak on causes and solutions for child abuse, and how faith communities can help prevent child abuse. An open discussion will follow.

Rev John McCaul, the Christian Co-Chair of the Council of Christians and Jews said, "Child abuse within our faith communities has been an unspoken serious issue for a long time, and yet these same faith communities could play a pivotal role in turning the problem around in the wider community."

The 5 P's of Fathering

Pull out the red and yellow cards
Fathers have a special function of regulation and guidance and can call the shots clearly around discipline. Kids like order and discipline especially boys and feel safe and secure knowing that dad has matters in hand.