MARYVILLE - To highlight the international efforts to prevent child endangerment, State Senator Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) is reminding residents of the warning signs that a child is being subjected to abuse.

“Although many of us are only familiar with children in our immediate households due to the pandemic’s social distancing guidelines, I want to remind parents, seniors, teachers and other concerned adults to look out for the signs of child maltreatment,” Crowe said. “Education is one of our strongest tools to prevent a child from being abused.”

Twenty years ago, on Nov. 19, 2000, the Women's World Summit Foundation launched the World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse to bring community awareness to the issue and encourage local, state and federal governments to take action to prevent child abuse.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), emotional abuse is one of the most common and most harmful forms of child maltreatment and can have a lifelong impact. Examples of emotional abuse include making fun of a child, name calling, always finding fault, using harsh words to criticize behavior and using fear to control behavior.

Visit the APA website for more information and tips for identifying and preventing child abuse.