Along with other activities of Downtown Salisbury’s Friday Night Out, a special event for families will take place at the F and M Trolley Barn this Friday, between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.
The main attraction will be the first public viewing of the short video, “Healthy Parenting, Healthy Families,” featuring local families and community resources.
The theme of the video is that parenting is not easy, but help is available.
The idea for the video was inspired by the Effective Discipline for Children community roundtable, sponsored by the Rowan County Board of Social Services in October 2006.
The roundtable raised awareness about the magnitude of the problem of child abuse and neglect across Rowan County. Often, abuse occurs because parents do not know how to effectively discipline their children without physically injuring them. Parents’ uncontrolled anger is another factor that results in abuse.
The roundtable guest presenter was a nationally acclaimed child psychologist, and he challenged the 100 people attending to use a variety of approaches to teach positive parenting skills.
Thirteen roundtable participants accepted the challenge and formed a Healthy Parenting Planning Committee in November 2006. The committee’s goal was to develop and use all forms of media as a means to teach good parenting practices so that children will not become victims of abuse and neglect.
The committee received a grant from the Blanche and Julian Robertson Family Foundation for development and distribution of this video. Working with Miller Davis Studios, the committee arranged for local families and community resources to be featured in the film.
The event is open to the public and will begin with opening remarks by Chief District Court Judge Charlie Brown. The video will be shown throughout the evening, which will also feature table displays by community agencies that serve families, free snacks donated by local restaurants, food vendors and grocery stores, music by entertainer Joe McNeil and fun activities for children, including the YMCA’s inflatable toy.
Copies of the video will be distributed to service organizations, doctors’ offices and other places where families gather. Parents may also purchase the video for a small cost.