Kids were the focus of a big party in downtown Sacramento Thursday.
Kids Day at The Capitol was filled with music, food and fun.
The goal was to raise awareness for a very serious issue in our community: child abuse.
Child abuse can come in a lot of different forms -- from physical to emotional -- and it's a pretty tough conversation to have.
Organizers say it's necessary because every year there are almost half a million reports of child abuse in California alone. A bigger goal of the gathering and the organizations who were there is to raise healthy California families.
It's all about getting to know the organizations and assets we have here in Northern California so parents don't feel confused, scared and isolated if they don't have people and resources to back them up.
Carlos Sanchez, his wife and baby girl came out to Kids Day at the Capitol because he says they wanted to make sure they're doing everything they can to stay healthy and thrive. They take advantage of the Yolo County Play School Experience.
It's a free preschool class for kids and their parents. Sanchez says it's comforting to know that there's help out there when they need it.
“We can say that we struggle most with financial things but if we didn't have these programs it would be a lot worse,” Sanchez said. “I never thought that these programs would help me achieve my goals as a parent. We try to take advantage of everything because we want our daughters to succeed in the future."
They aren't alone. Families all across our area struggle to juggle everything from work to child care.
"At this time, my wife isn't working but she actually takes up a lot of her time taking care of my daughter and as soon as I'm off work, I'm on top of my daughter’s needs,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez goes on to say, parenthood is exciting, but it's also stressful.
"We're expecting another baby so this is our chance to get the most information that we can right now in order to provide the next baby the with more useful and important information,” he said.
But, he says, working with the Yolo County Children's Services helps them bridge the gap and now they even offer a few tips to other parents out there.
"Don't stay at home, don't stay just at work,” he said. “Go out and volunteer with these programs because they can help you and they'll give you the skills to be a better parent.”
In all, there are nine family resource programs in our area with help for families with special needs to simply making sure your baby is sleeping safely at night.
For a list of these programs, click here