june edition of the blog carnival against child abuse: fathers and parents

it is time for the june edition of the blog carnival against child abuse. i have really enjoyed hosting this month's edition and reading all of the submissions.

father's day is in a few short days, and for many survivors it is a day full of reflection--both painful and joyful. i think it is very appropriate that the theme for this month is about fathers and parents in general.

trigger warning: please read with caution, as many posts may be triggering to survivors of abuse.

our first post, Father's Day, comes from Colleen at Surviving by Grace. Colleen shares her decision to stop sending her father cards on father's day. i applaud her for her strength in choosing to do what is best for her!

next up is my post (cornnut), titled the fathers in my life, posted here at picture of experience. in my post i talk about the other side of father's day for survivors--my father and my father in heaven, who have been loving and supportive through my healing journey.

good for Jumping In Puddles for posting Fathers Day at Lifes Spacings. (warning: this may be especially triggering.) this post shows guts. way to stand up for yourself!

Colleen from Surviving by Grace is back again, presenting The Papa I Never Had. i have to admit that this post brought tears to my eyes. thank you for sharing your new found view on God as a Father, not just a Creator!

just after the death of her father, Enola shares The Land of Numb. this post is something i think we can all relate with--that place that we go when we're trying to deal with so many difficult feelings. posted at ~Enola~.

over at her blog ~Perfect~, Kim discusses " A sort of complication of Father work done and Father work remaining to be done." her post Fathers, Fathers, Fathers covers the progress she has made with overcoming her issues with her own father, and her daughter's father, and also the work she has yet to do.

in the form of a letter to her father, Vicki Johnson presents Father's Day posted at Here In My World. vicki shares how she is looking forward to being able to talk to her father about her childhood pain.

advocacy and awareness
Jaynie discusses the appropriateness of rompers for adult women in Rompers: I Interviewed A Designer, And I Liked It! posted at Here's Looking Like You, Kid. this post really got me thinking about childlike clothing on adult women: is it really objectifying? does it really show that our society views child-like women as being more desirable?

Mommy vs. The Monsters » Being “Nice” = Acquiescence posted at Mommy vs. The Monsters is written by Heather M. this is a post all parents should read. Heather discusses the term "acquiesence" and how we should teach our children that "‘Being nice’ is NEVER required when it means allowing someone to hurt or scare them."

Marcella Chester presents RESPECT! Campaign Provides Tools Related To Respectful Relationships, posted at abyss2hope: A rape survivor's zigzag journey into the open. this campaign is an initiative to advance a national movement to promote healthy relationships and stop relationship violence through positive role modeling and respect education.

poetry
i love reading survivor poetry, and this post from Rick Belden is no different. gift (iron man dream #3) posted at poetry, dreams, and the body is a poignant poem discussing a dream gift from his father.

in the news
abuse comes from many sources. Hall Monitor presents Parents Say Cell Phone Video Shows Teacher Choking Student posted at DetentionSlip.org. two wrongs do not make a right!

i especially enjoyed reading Of Abuse & Avatars — And Outrage posted by Alessia at Relationship Underarm Stick. she discusses an article titled Childhood Abuse, Avatar Choices, and Other Risk Factors Associated With Internet-Initiated Victimization of Adolescent Girls published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The article discusses a study showing a correlation between teen girls who receive sexual advances, their avatar choices, and past childhood abuse.

i love this post from Eva Marie Woywod, called The Bond in Being a Survivor; it can be a gift posted at Thankfully Chewed Up and Spat Back Out. here eva talks about her reaction to the news story of 5-year-old Nevaeh Buchanan. i especially love this quote from eva: "We have insurance to repair our cars when they are dented in an accident...a child..a victim of domestic violence doesn't have insurance to repair the dent left in their soul when they are harmed...they need the love, care, and concern of society...strangers...to help to heal."

survivor stories
Surbhi Bhatia presents a child's story of abuse titled Our Little Secret posted at The Viewspaper. what an eye-opening account of childhood abuse!

i cannot describe this post, Begin Again Each Day: Be The Light! by Marj aka Thriver posted at Survivors Can Thrive! better than she did: "I didn't get a chance to write up a post about fathers or parents, but this old post--which has a story in it I was prompted to write as an assignment for one of my old therapists--is about the light I believe every child is born with. I also believe that my parents--my father especially--could not tolerate my light and systematically went about trying to snuff it out. As survivors learning to thrive and break the cycle of child abuse, we can all be a light in the darkness."

Sarah writes about her journey of faith in overcoming the damaging effects of child abuse and rape in her post Braver than you Think on her blog Writing.

healing and therapy
contributor Nancy Richards discusses the importance of Remembering to Mourn, posted at Heal and Forgive. just as many survivors struggle with mourning through the healing process, Nancy does. she shares her mourning "rituals" that have really helped her process this difficult part of healing.

thank you so much to all of our contributors. it can be a difficult thing to share such personal experiences with the world. i admire all of you for sharing your thoughts and histories so that we can all try to make this world a better, safer place for our children. i feel so blessed to be among such an amazing group of survivors!