Each year, April is Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month and this serves as a reminder of our nation’s need to focus on healthy child development. Given our nation’s rank in child well-being according to UNICEF, we need to focus extra hard this year.

Last May, UNICEF released a report showing that the U.S. is ranked 32nd out of 34 industrialized nations in terms of child poverty, with 23.1 percent of children living in relative poverty.

Other UNICEF reports have shown similar failures of the U.S. to adequately promote healthy children and healthy development. For example, a 2011 report shows our country is ranked 26th out of 29th for overall child well-being, and was ranked in the bottom third for every category measured, including material well-being, health and safety, education, behaviors and risks, and housing and environment.

Because of statistics like these, Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii and our partners in prevention in the Child Abuse Prevention Planning Council want to encourage everyone who lives in Hawaii to commit to taking steps to help improve these rankings and therefore improve the lives of children and families throughout the country.

We all have a role to play in healthy child development and the prevention of child abuse and neglect. People like coaches, teachers, babysitters and health care professionals work with children every day and are already working to move our country toward being a greater place for children. But even if you don’t work with or around children, you still can have a positive impact on their development.

By donating time and money to prevention organizations, taking the time to volunteer for before- or after-school programs, or offering to help families in your own neighborhood, you can have a meaningful impact on the lives of children throughout the community. Actions like these help bring communities together, reduce isolation and help children and families succeed by providing them with the tools and resources for optimal development.

If we all pledge to do each of these activities at least once during this month of April, we can make a real difference. If we continue to take steps like these throughout the year and on, we can help make Hawaii and America the best place in the world for children to grow.

Anyone interested in learning more can visit www.preventchildabusehawaii.org to learn about ways to help promote the healthy development of children and families and how that helps prevent child abuse from occurring. Also, find out more about special events sponsored by Prevent Child Abuse Hawaii, the state Department of Health and the Child Abuse Prevention Planning Council during April Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month. Together, we all can help prevent child abuse and neglect throughout Hawaii.