Where Do We Place Our Values?

A few months ago I attended a workshop called Champions for Children. As part of the workshop, they included the local child abuse awareness "shoe walk". This has several pages of information about child abuse and prevention lined out with children and teen shoes. It really is eye-opening. Here are a few snippets of the walk. (Warning: some of these statistics may be upsetting for some people.)

I post this video to bring up the point that we as a society seem to have misplaced our values. I'm not talking specifically about Christian values, but simply the value we used to place on our children as our future.  I think we have lost the view of our children as being our greatest asset and our strongest resource.

I encourage you in whatever interactions you may have with children whether as a parent, a teacher, a minister, or a friend, to make sure that you tell each and every child with your words and actions that they are loved and worthy.

If you have any reason to suspect a child is in danger or is being mistreated, please speak up. Contact your local child protective service or call 911. In some states you may have a mandatory duty to report within a certain amount of time.

In Texas, adults have 48 hours to report any suspected child abuse or neglect. In Texas you can report online here.

Champions for Children Workshop

I'm at the Champions for Children Workshop in Abilene today. I'm learning a ton of great stuff for parents, ministers, and teachers. I strongly believe that knowledge is for everyone and this is important information. I'll be posting some highlights later on. Topics include: drug endangered children, the CASA program, music and lyrics, and dangerous "games" children play.