Daily HealthBeat Tip

Keeping kids safe

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Keeping the kids safe is a parent's job. But sometimes, parents create the risk. Child neglect or abuse is something nobody wants.

Federal statistics show a bit of a drop in maltreatment cases reported to protective services agencies. Even so, 12 of every 1,000 children were mistreated.

HHS' Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, Wade Horn, says even well-intentioned parents can fall short under stresses such as poverty and unemployment, combined with a lack of skill in parenting.

But Horn says skills can be taught � such as knowing what's normal for kids at a given age, even if normal might not be what you want.

"In addition to that, it's about teaching parents the need to attend to positive behavior, not just to attend to negative behavior." (eight seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 30, 2006

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