DANIEL AND HIS CAT
NOT shaking your head disapprovingly at a parent when their child is acting up in a supermarket could be one of the first steps to prevent child abuse.
Instead, smile and offer to take their groceries to the car.
Life can be stressful for parents.
If you throw in long-term unemployment, drug and alcohol abuse or someone in the family with a disability, the stress levels are much higher.
It is these people we need to help before the situation escalates.
Last year 30,000 children were victims of child abuse but the National Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect believes it is an encouraging sign that the number of abused kids is "stabilising".
Bravehearts - which promotes education, research and understanding - is also heartened by bold steps in the child protection arena, from the Child Protection Inquiry to a two-strike child offender jailing laws in the courts.
The Daniel Morcombe Foundation also believes it is making a difference, visiting 123 schools to speak to an estimated 50,000 students and speaking at 80 community events to spread its child safety message in the past 12 months.
NAPCAN president Teresa Scott said stabilising child abuse figures was an indication people were more aware now and were taking steps to help.
"It is still a big, big issue and we can't leave it in the hands of government departments alone to resolve," she said.
"Everyone in the community can play a part in keeping our children safe whether you are an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, a friend or neighbour or even someone who runs a local business and comes into contact with children."
Ms Scott said most people associated abuse with physical violence or sexual exploitation but, in Australia, the main types of abuse were emotional abuse and neglect.
She said helping parents struggling with difficult children in public situations could really help.
"We need to recognise that small actions can make a big difference," she said.
"You may think this is a long way from preventing child abuse but it is not.
"These are all acts of support that can make a difference and change behaviour.
"The focus of all our programs are community based. If you empower a community to look after their own through heightened awareness and education programs you can slowly start to make a difference."
Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston said she felt like the new Queensland Government had adopted the foundation's mantra to become the safest state in Australia to raise a child.
She said adopting the two-strike jail policy for repeat child sex offenders and the extensive Child Protection Inquiry were positive moves for an area she was passionate about.
The inquiry, which is about to begin a regional journey, will chart a road map to the best outcomes for children and young people in Queensland.
"The people that work for the department, the child safety officers at the front end, are wonderful people that join the ranks of those teams to help children and they have little chance to do that because of the way the system works," Ms Johnston said.
"I hope the Commission of Inquiry finds ways that allow the right kind of intervention by the right people for the right needs for these kids."
One year since Bruce and Denise Morcombe were made Queensland's child safety ambassadors, they have repeatedly turned their tragedy into a positive safety message for children.
As well as visiting homes in south-east Queensland near their Sunshine Coast home, they have gone as far north as Mossman and Mount Isa and west to places like Goondiwindi, sometimes to schools with as few as 25 students.
Mr Morcombe said it was hard to tell whether the message was getting through but they always received "glowing, positive feedback" which they hoped was a good indicator.
"The students, it doesn't matter what age, they are very interested in what we have to say, as well as the teachers," Mr Morcombe said.
"I'm sure they've had safety messages from parents, schools, teachers and police. The difference Denise and I bring to the table in reinforcing the dot points is linking the story back to Daniel."
The past 12 months have been a whirlwind for the dedicated parents whose son Daniel was abducted and murdered on the Sunshine Coast almost nine years ago.
The introduction of the Daniel Morcombe Child Safety Curriculum into Prep to Year 2 is imminent, with years 3-6 and 7-9 not far behind.
There are people from Griffith University conducting research into a universal hand signal the Morcombes developed for children to use in distress.
The University of the Sunshine Coast is working with the Morcombes to develop computer games based around child safety.
More than 20,000 people downloaded a new Help Me app from iPhone, with an Android version also now available for download.
The app allows people to plug in two nominated phone numbers which will be alerted if you press the distress button - handy not only for child safety but also car break-downs or medical issues.
They have developed the Family Day Out on October 1 to provide fun for kids while linking arms with a range of like-minded charities.
The other work of the foundation is helping crime victims and Mrs Morcombe said they had already helped pay for driving lessons, books, holidays, counselling, tutoring, ballet lessons and Broncos family ticket this year.
Mr Morcombe said it was hard to tell if you were making a difference in crime prevention but this path provided instantaneous results.
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