Healthier Futures, a National Dialogue, and Adrian Peterson.

In response to the NFL suspending Adrian Peterson for the rest of the season today, we released a brief statement titled "Healthier Futures, a National Dialogue, and Adrian Peterson." We hope you will take a look and let us know if you have any questions. We have also pasted an excerpt below. 

"At Prevent Child Abuse America we work to create healthier futures for all children. We also seek to create environments that lead to great childhoods. And we strive to create an equal playing field for all children and all families.

We traffic in hope and solutions, thriving children, and a healthier world for all of us to live in. What we do not do is traffic in rage. It doesn't serve the nation's children, their families, or the communities they live in.

But we know there will be rage today directed at the National Football League for suspending Adrian Peterson for the rest of the 2014 season. People will question whether his rights as a parent, and worker, are being undermined. And while we agree that this is an important dialogue, we do not believe it is the most important dialogue we as a nation can be having right now.

While we take no stand on Peterson's case, we appreciate all of the dialogue that has occurred coast-to-coast since his very public case raised the issue of appropriate discipline. What we've learned since the news about Peterson first broke is that despite being a controversial topic, people are very willing to discuss their views on corporal punishment."

A Culture of Respect, Early Child Development, and the Impact of Abuse.

In response to the Adrian Peterson story, Prevent Child Abuse America released a Statement titled "A Culture of Respect, Early Child Development, and the Impact of Abuse" - here. We hope you will take a look and let us know if you have any questions. We have also pasted an excerpt below.

"America is home to many cultures that bring many practices to child rearing and knowing what is best for a child is typically best left to a parent. But parents must be aware of disciplinary options that are age appropriate, contribute to holding the child accountable, and promote a healthy parent-child relationship. This is one of the goals of home visitation services like Healthy Families America. These services build upon mutual respect, effective child rearing strategies, and recognize that parents need, and typically want, information to build that life-long relationship."