Posts by Deanna Hynes

  The Day That I Disclosed It’s so strange to think back to the day that I disclosed. I was home from college for the summer; a wonderful reprieve from the never-ending neediness of school and soccer. My time was split between full-time deli work and spending time with my fiancé. It was our fourth…

  It’s The Season To Be Thankful It’s not always easy to think of the ways we’re thankful. During this pandemic I know I’ve had moments where I’ve felt trapped, isolated, and frustrated that there seems to be no end in sight. So this week, I want to list some of the things I am…

The Importance of Code Words What is the importance of code words? Well, let’s back up and start with what a code word actually is. A code word is a term a child can use to alert their parents that they are uncomfortable, without having to be detailed. Your child needs you and they can’t…

Delayed Disclosures and Why We Wait Working in the field of sexual abuse prevention, I get a lot of questions. What is sexual abuse? Can an abuser be a minor? Does abuse have to be recurring or does a one-time-act fall under the umbrella? Do children make up allegations? Do perpetrators go to prison often?…

Conversations When The Unthinkable Happens We have written blogs over the last year on how to talk to your child about sexual abuse, the power of language, and why abuse prevention education is so important. All of these topics encourage including children in their own personal body safety plan. But what do we do when…

    How to Be More Than Just a Hashtag I have always been into social media. Throughout high school and college I dove into Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and now (even as a millennial) TikTok. When I got into prevention work back in 2014, I began to LOVE social media. People around the world were…

    Helping Children Speak Up for Themselves Wouldn’t it be great if children were born assertive? That they just knew how to feel a feeling, internalize it, and then speak eloquently of their wants, needs, dreams, hopes, aspirations, and goals? If you’ve ever spent time with people though, you know that even adults struggle…

  The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Life Growing up in the home that I did, there wasn’t much room for feelings. I mean, I had feelings for sure. To acknowledge the pain from abuse would have warped my reality, though. To keep myself safe as a kid, I compartmentalized the anger, resentment,…

  Everything Pixar Like a lot of millennials, I grew up watching everything Pixar. Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Monsters Inc, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles were watched countless times. My siblings and myself would huddle together in our living room and escape through the cartoons. We watched them so often we could say…

  Unforgettable Moments with Kids Every time Victor and I talk, we bring up our kids. As parents it’s easy to slip from work talk to family talk and back again. I’m sure we’re not alone in this. Sometimes it just feels necessary to share unforgettable moments with kids. I feel like being a mom…