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Parents and teens learn about teen dating violence through Family Advocacy Program

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Tammie Ramsouer
  • 42d Air Base Wing Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. --  For the first time the Family Advocacy Program will host a Teen Dating Violence Awareness Dance, March 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Maxwell Youth Center.

The event is for sixth to 12th grade students and their parents with base access. Parents must be accompanied by a teenage student in order to participate.  It is a date night activity for both parents and teens to understand teen dating violence and celebrate healthy, respectful relationships.

"We want parents to bring their teens and help them understand what a good date should look like," said Daphne e O'Hair, Maxwell Family Advocacy Program domestic abuse victim advocate. 

"We think the dance off theme is attractive for parents and for teens," said Air Force 1st Lt. Michelle Gordon, 42nd Medical Group Mental Health social worker. "The competition will allow both parents and their teens the opportunity to show off their dancing skills."

For some participants, this may be their first time at a dance, said O'Hair.

FAP has volunteers they call the "Groove Masters", to promote participants to dance and be involved.

"Even if a dad brought his son to the event, we don't want them to miss out on the fun," O'Hair said.

Including volunteers for their "Groove Masters" team, honorary moms and dads will be close by for the son's that came with their dad's or daughters that came with their mom's. The honorary moms and dads will ask them to dance or show them how to dance, O'Hair said.

Also included will be door prizes and booths from different organizations throughout the base. Every booth at the event will present messages for teens and children, such as how to stay safe on the internet and teaching them what respect is and what it looks like.

"All the messages are going to be positive ones," O'Hair said. "I think that's the best way to talk to kids about teen dating violence, because if we lecture them, they are less likely to listen and retain the information."

The connection between parents and their teens is one of the main goals the FAP hopes to make stronger at this event.

"The number one thing that keeps kids from getting into teen dating violence is having an awesome relationship with their parents," O'Hare said. "The kids that have that relationship with their parents are going to be talking with their parents when they get into trouble instead of keeping it a secret."

Nearly 1.5 million teenagers nationwide experience some sort of abuse from their boyfriend or girlfriend in a single year, according to www.loveisrespect.org.  Most parents don't believe teen dating violence is a problem or admit they do not know it is an issue.

"What I want parents to know is, very few teens (1 in10) will come to their parents when something is wrong, because they are afraid of getting in trouble, being monitored in social media or having dating privileges taken away." O'Hair said. "Parents should have an open dialogue with their children so they feel safe coming to them with a problem, and they need to have that conversation often."

The FAP team will provide further information to parents and teens as they leave the event, and plan on distributing the same information throughout the base to those who could not or were not at the event.

For more information about this event or about teen dating violence, contact the Family Advocacy Program at 334-953-5430.