April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

A good time to recall that “[y]ears of scientific studies have shown that research-based child abuse prevention programs can give struggling parents the tools they need to become self-aware, better-equipped, more patient parents.”

Especially when the child is very young and bonding and attachment are beginning.

Child abuse prevention programs build on parents’ strengths and teach them about normal child development, how to address challenges and how to manage stress from those challenges.

One veteran child welfare advocate asserts that these programs “break the cycle of abuse and neglect”.

Read more in this [South Florida] Sun Sentinel article: Efforts can slow child abuse cycle.