Recognizing that creating a family-friendly workplace is an underlying factor in prevention, we celebrated a special “Kids Day” here at Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey. Employees were invited to bring their children in for a fun day of learning and real-life experience appropriate for all ages.

We kicked off the day with an introduction from Executive Director Rush Russell, who spoke to the children about the importance of “practice” — just as kids practice their ABCs and riding a bicycle, parents practice every day to be the best parents they can be and show their families how much they are appreciated and loved.

After a snack and quick introductions to each other, the children learned a little bit about the work that Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey does throughout the state, such as our home visitation, early childhood and education, training, and more. Each of these pieces all fit together to form our organization, and everyone works together to accomplish great things. We also spoke about areas such as “Finance” and “Human Resources” — the areas that work inside the organization to support everyone as they do their jobs.

Having learned about the different areas of our organization, the children played a game where they stood by the name of the department they believed their parent or guardian worked within.

Later in the morning, all of the children learning about podcasting and how the Internet has allowed organizations like Prevent Child Abuse-New Jersey to share tips and knowledge with people all across the state, and even the whole country! Each child stepped up to the microphone to tell us a little bit about why being a kid is so great, who their role models are, what they had learned so far about being kind to and careful with babies, and more. Sometimes kids really do say the darndest things, and you learn just how much of a positive impact you truly have on their lives.

Following a special pizza lunch back with their parents, the children regrouped for a group art project. Using magazine cut-outs and other materials, the children created pinwheels and other designs that represented a safe, happy, and healthy childhood.

We concluded the day by listening to the final product of the podcast the children recorded earlier in the day, complete with appropriate “Awww!”s and smiles. The children showed their parents their art projects, and helped out until the end of the day.