Family & Children’s Center is joining the community movement to be a No Hit Zone at all FCC locations.
What is a No Hit Zone?
A No Hit Zone is an environment that supports a culture of safety and health where:
• No adult shall hit another adult
• No adult shall hit a child
• No child shall hit an adult
• No child shall hit another child
Overall, the No Hit Zone program raises awareness and advocates for healthy relationships & safe environments across the lifespan. No Hit Zone programs strive to prevent hitting through strategies that increase awareness, provide education, and build skills. A primary goal of No Hit Zones includes the prevention of hitting a child as a form of punishment.
Some key messages of No Hit Zone programs include:
- Support healthy relationships and safe environments across the lifespan
- Focus on prevention of problems and supportive intervention when needed
- Promotion of nonviolent conflict resolution skills as primary pieces of all healthy relationships
A primary goal of No Hit Zone programs is to support healthy child development through raising awareness of risk factors associated with hitting/spanking a child as a form of physical punishment. Caregivers of children are encouraged to learn safe, healthy, effective discipline strategies that promote child learning and a healthy development.
Strategies to support positive child development include:
- Increase awareness about risks associated with physical punishment
- Provide education and build skills for learning safe, healthy, and effective discipline strategies that do not involve hitting
Many people consider No Hit Zones to be an “intervention” strategy. Yes, supportive staff intervention when hitting is observed is encouraged. However, No Hit Zones primarily serve as a “prevention” strategy. No Hit Zone programs first strive to prevent a problem and promote positive protective factors that strengthen families throughout our community. The goal is to reduce known risk factors, while increasing positive protective factors that promote healthy, safe and resilient child development. Healthy child development and strong families are supported through healthy relationships and safe environments.
No Hit Zones:
- Prevent child maltreatment
- Encourage increased parental awareness and knowledge about choice in discipline strategies
- Encourage nonviolent conflict resolution skills in all relationships and across the lifespan
- Promote safe places for people of all ages to thrive
- Increase awareness that child development and health is greatly influenced by family interactions and the environment
The Four Strategies for Change work together and in support of each other. Inclusion of all Four Strategies for Change in the No Hit Zone program maximizes impact and effectiveness.
Four Strategies to Influence Change:
- Provide information (posters, brochures and other materials will be available at all FCC locations)
- Promote safe places (high conflict areas will be evaluated and materials made available)
- Build skills (all FCC staff will complete online training) *You will have 3 months to complete the 15 minute Relias No Hit Zone training assigned to you.
- Policy (see No Hit Zone Procedure)
The role of the professional in No Hit Zone workplaces is to
- Use supportive conversation when working with families and during interventions.
- Use effective intervention strategies that focus on prevention and early intervention in order to avert a problem. If a problem occurs, supportive communication strategies and action plan for productive intervention will occur.
- Promote a safe and healthy environment for people of all ages through staff conversation and actions. Attention is given to develop plans for prevention of a problem and support early intervention. We all play a role in the promotion of well-being and safe places within our community.
No Hit Zone aligns with FCC’s Trauma Informed Philosophy Statement by ensuring our settings and interactions are physically and psychologically safe. Let’s foster safe and healthy environments for people of all ages to thrive!
Learn more at ThisIsANoHitZone.org