April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Prevention is the best hope for reducing child abuse and neglect and improving the lives of children and families.

At the Y, we build strong kids, strong families, strong communities. But strengthening families and preventing child abuse requires a shared commitment of individuals and organizations. We must all strive to promote the "protective factors" that serve as buffers, helping parents who might otherwise be at risk of abusing their children to find resources, supports, or coping strategies that allow them to parent effectively, even under stress.

The following protective factors have been linked to a lower incidence of child abuse and neglect:

• Nurturing and attachment. When parents and children have strong, warm feelings for one another, children develop trust that parents will provide what they need to thrive.
• Knowledge of parenting and of child and youth development. Parents who understand how children grow and develop can provide an environment where children can live up to their potential.
• Parental resilience. Parents who are emotionally resilient have a positive attitude, creatively problem solve, effectively address challenges, and are less likely to direct anger and frustration at their children.
• Social connections. Trusted and caring family friends provide emotional support to parents by offering encouragement and assistance in facing the daily challenges of raising a family.
• Concrete supports for parents. Parents need basic resources such as food, clothing, housing, transportation, and access to essential services that address family-specific needs (such as child care, health care, and mental health services) to ensure the health and well-being of their children.

Click here for more information about child abuse prevention, including how you can help.

Earth Day is April 22nd. Help the Y be green...

• Use our recycling receptacles for plastic bottles
• View class schedules on our website instead of taking a paper copy (click on the links at left to go straight to the schedules)
• Take shorter showers
• Drive to the Y with a buddy!

For more ideas and information about Earth Day, click here.

Are you looking forward to summer break? Or dreading the "I'm bored!" anthem that inevitably accompanies it? If so, check out all the great opportunities offered by the Y to give your kids the best summer break ever!  

We offer Day Camp at RFW from 6AM - 6PM, Monday through Friday, for rising Kindergarteners through 6th Graders. Swimming, field trips, and outdoor fun, all while instilling our core values of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility. Click here for more information, or contact Caitlyn O'Hara, caitlyn.ohara@peninsulaymca.org, 757.229.9622, to make an appointment to register.

If your kids are ready for an overnight adventure, try Camp Kekoka, the Y's resident camp in Kilamarnock, Virginia. It offers kayaking, fishing, archery, and more in a caring and nurturing atmosphere. Click here for more information.

If you can't wait until summer to get your kids involved in some great recreational activities, sign them up for one of the Youth Programs Spring II Season classes. Spring II starts April 30, with registration April 16 - May 4. Click here for the schedule.

Or just enjoy some spring weekend fun at Healthy Kids Day, Saturday, April 28, from 10:00AM - 1:00PM, in the Sentara Hospital Field across from the Y parking lot. Play on the bounce house, enter a sack race, get your face painted, and more. Click here for more information.

Are you a competitive swimmer? Do you want to be one? This class teaches proper stroke technique, endurance, starts, turns, finishes, and how to compete with a team.

This class is a great pre-swim season warm up. Swimmers must be able to swim 25 yards freestyle (with rotary breathing) and 25 yards of backstroke.

Classes are Tuesday/Thursday, from 5:00PM - 6:00PM, May 1 - 31. Registration is April 9 - 27.

Ages 5+. Members $50 / Non-members $75

Contact Caitlyn O'Hara, caitlyn.ohara@peninsulaymca.org, 757.229.9622, for more information.

Being a Y member doesn't just offer health benefits -- it offers fun too! YMCA members receive discounts on family events at the Hampton Coliseum, including Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Dragons, and New Edition Live in Concert.

Get more information here, make plans with your family, and take advantage of yet another benefit of belonging to the Y.