| By: Allison Schumacher The (Near) Future of Abuse Prevention: A Conversation with Joan Duffell Child Abuse Prevention Month (April) is just around the corner, so PR Manager Allison Wedell Schumacher sat down with Joan Cole Duffell, executive director of Committee for Children, to talk about the organization's past, present, and future in abuse prevention, and about our new Child Protection Training that will be released later… Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher Bullying in Kindergarten? Prevention Means Starting Early by Allison Wedell Schumacher When most of us think of bullying, we think of the stories we’ve seen in the news: high school kids being maligned on social media; middle schoolers shunning or teasing each other. So when we see bullying prevention lessons that begin in kindergarten, we might think, “Overkill! Those sweet little five-year-olds wouldn’t hurt a…Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher Chicago: A First Day of School Like No Other By Allison Wedell Schumacher Making the transition to a new school is never easy. But imagine the challenge of making that transition because your school was actually shut down. Imagine the questions flooding your mind: How will I get to my new school? Will the kids there like me and be nice to me? Will I fit in? Thousands of children and their families in Chicago have been asking these questions and more in the wake of Chicago Public… Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher On the Importance of Being Crazy About a Child “Somebody’s got to be crazy about that kid, and vice versa! But what does ‘crazy’ mean? It means that the adult in question regards this particular child as somehow special—even though objectively the adult may well know that this is not the case… For the child, the adult is also special—someone to whom the child turns most readily in…Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher The Accidental Advocate Allison Schumacher, Committee for Children's PR and Communications Manager, wakes up one morning to realize she has somehow become a bullying prevention advocate. How did this happen, and will she use her power for good? Read on.Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher The Tiny Teacher In the past week alone, I have been a ghost, a cowgirl, a dragon, a monkey, an Olympic figure skater, and a monster.Read More
| By: Allison Schumacher Stranger Danger: A Parent’s Perspective Like most parents, my mind runs away like a frightened animal at the idea of my child being sexually abused.Read More