“Positive communication with your kids IS possible!” SCAN’s Parent Education team members often find themselves giving these words of encouragement to parents in our classes, support groups and workshops. Thanks to a great monthly email they send to parents, we’re sharing their thoughts here on the blog, too: Positive communication can reinforce good behavior, and help you understand and eliminate bad behavior. It can build […]
Did you know that SCAN offers a free mobile app that allows parents on-the-go access to all of the information on our online Parent Resource Center? Now we also have a short, 1-minute video you can share with parents that explains how simple it is to download and use the app: Our goal is to make it easy for parents to learn more […]
Lots of parents are especially stressed in the final weeks of December. How can we help? Sometimes a simple suggestion is all it takes to give a parent the permission to hit the reset button on the holiday season: Simplify. Reduce the number of gifts you give. Don’t worry about sending cards this year. Cut […]
Report card season can be stressful for children and parents. Kids often want to please their parents, while parents might equate academic success with future well-being and happiness. When grades differ from expectations, it can be easy to respond in anger, disappointment or frustration. But parents should work to provide a safe and nurturing environment for children–not one […]
Providing a safe sleep environment for a baby is one of the first things you can do to protect and nurture a child. October is Safe Sleep Awareness Month (#safesleepawareness) — and there is no better time to share 5 simple things you can do today to make sure the parents you know have the information and resources […]
FACT: More than 3 million children in the U.S. witness domestic violence every year. Even if they are not directly abused, living in a violent home can have devastating effects on children. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, an important opportunity to update your tools and resources for families experiencing violence: 1. Download these fact sheets: Relationships That Hurt […]
Since the launch of the Parenting Can Be Tough campaign, we continue to consider this theme through the eyes of different parents in our communities. The challenges of parenting can be universal—consider topics like discipline, behavior, stress management—but they can also be unique for different groups of families. This month, we invited a panel of […]
In recent weeks, children and parents across the country have faced hurricanes and wildfires. Families in some cities have seen racially-motivated violence on their streets. Just this week, a school in Washington state was the site of another mass shooting. When a child is affected by events like these, what can we do to help? Knowing how to define […]
As children head back to school, some of their biggest concerns often involve making friends, “fitting in” and navigating relationships. But when a child has good, healthy friendships, the benefits can include increased self-esteem and appropriate emotional growth. So how can parents better understand social development and its impact on their children? There’s a fact sheet for that! Our “Making […]
For those of us who work with children and families, summer can bring fun — but also a lot of season-specific challenges. Families are on unusual schedules, parents are juggling the demands of new childcare arrangements and children are spending more time alone / on-screen or online / with new adults / outdoors and in pools. This week, we’ve gathered […]
There have been countless (and often conflicting) news stories in recent weeks about immigration in the United States. In our networks, the discussion–for years–has simply focused on how we can best care for and support these families. What is it like to be an immigrant and a parent? What are the unique fears, challenges, and needs faced by these families? Please […]
It’s December — are parents around you looking a little more frazzled? Stress is an issue for families all year long, but during the holidays it can reach a fevered pitch. Here are some of our favorite tips and resources to share with the families in your community: Make smart decisions about what you say […]
Twenty-seven. 27 children in the U.S. have died from being left in a car this year alone. There is record heat in many parts of the country with more than one month of summer ahead of us, and the arrival of fall does not automatically mean cooler temperatures. As service providers and those who advocate for children […]
Twice a year, SCAN publishes the Parent Connection Resource Guide (PCRG), a catalog of parenting resources available in the Northern Virginia area. SCAN has just published its newest guide covering August through December of 2016. Our goal in preparing and distributing the PCRG to child welfare professionals is to spread the word about the plethora […]
We talk a lot about families and technology – how to deal with things like sexting, creating family tech rules and unplugging together to make time to connect with each other. But the reality today is that the average person spends about 8-10 hours a day consuming digital media and between 4-5 hours a day using […]
It’s a topic that has come up often in our Allies in Prevention Coalition Meetings: How do parenting topics and resources apply to those raising children with special needs? In many cases, families are all facing the same struggles — how to discipline, deal with sibling rivalry, find childcare — but at the same time there are […]
“I cannot get my baby to stop crying.” “My baby gets cold at night, so I have to leave a blanket in her crib.” “Why can’t I figure out what he needs? I feel so frustrated!” Service providers working with parents hear these kinds of comments and questions all the time. It’s normal for new […]
Are you a parent with a smartphone? This post is for you! Over the summer, one of our interns compiled some of the top-ranked parenting apps available on iTunes. We thought we’d share them here on the blog, and also invite you to browse our online Parent Resource Center whenever you’re searching for tips on […]
At this time of year, we get a lot of questions about Supervision Guidelines and when it’s “okay” to leave children at home alone. As much as we’d love to give parents a simple answer, it’s not a one-size-fits-all question. The fact is, every child—and family—is different. Instead of an “answer,” we like to provide […]
Imagine you’re a parent. Raising a child is one of the hardest jobs you have EVER had. Now imagine you’re suddenly doing it in a new country, where very few people can speak your native language. Where you know little about the resources available to your family. Where few—if any—of your family and friends are there to […]
When I first began working at SCAN over ten years ago, I did not have children but was passionate about the work we were doing in the community to prevent child abuse and neglect. As years went by – and my family grew to include three young children – not only did I begin to […]
Growing up, we simply didn’t have the same access to technology and the online world as kids do now. Some sites (like Facebook) have rules disallowing anyone under 13 to use their site. But many parents allow their children to sign up to keep in touch with family members and close friends. This is usually […]
Last week our country faced the traumatic memories of 9/11. A decade after the terrorist attacks that day, millions of children – many of them not even born in 2001 – also had to see images of the attacks, talk about it in their classrooms and hear stories of those who lived through the devastation. […]