“Pinwheels for Prevention” is April’s national theme bringing attention to the importance of raising children who grow up to be emotionally, physically, and mentally healthy adults ready to contribute positively to the community.

Healthy Kids has been working in Lincoln County to offer programs to parents, children and professionals that help increase everyone’s knowledge and skills when it comes to caring for and raising children.

“One of the things that is so important is that we know caring for and raising children can be difficult even under the best of circumstances,” said Leslie Livingston, executive director of Healthy Kids, said. “Children are very dependent on us and their brains aren’t developed allowing them to think like adults.

“The more caregivers and parents understand about child development, brain development and temperament; and have a solid support system for themselves in place, the better the job any of us can do. Problems can arise when one own stress level increases for whatever reason or there is lack of knowledge. This can lead to high levels of what becomes 'Toxic Stress' for kids and long term consequences.”

Toxic Stress on children has been identified and written about in a national study called Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES). Abuse, parental substance abuse or mental illness and parental incarceration, among other causes, increase the risk of Toxic Stress that have been shown to lead to adult illness and pre-mature death later on in life.

The cost of adverse childhood experiences is high. Non-fatal cases in Maine tally an estimated $3.5 billion dollars each year based on preliminary data from Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services Office of Child and Family Services. There are about 2,500 confirmed cases a year in Maine that add up over time. The unreported or unconfirmed cases drive the cost much higher.

Healthy Kids offers home visiting to any parent in Lincoln County with any number of children of any age, parenting classes, professional workshops, classes to teens at the high schools, workshops at day cares, runs networking groups for parents and offers supervised visitation. All of these programs are designed to help increase knowledge and help participants improve their support systems.

For more information, call 207-563-1818 or visit www.healthykidsmaine.com/.