What Is Your ACE Score?

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study

My ACE score is two. The ACE questionaire is a simple list of ten questions, but it's ramifications are deep and wide (yes, just like the Jordan river).

One with the world!

Robbyn Peters Bennett, founder of StopSpanking.org (see Tedx Talk), has worked heart and soul on stopping the generational cycle of corporal punishment. I, Papa Green Bean will para-phrase much of her information throughout the rest of this post.

Did you know a third of all adults have an ACE score of 0, and these adults have few, if any, risk factors for diseases that are common causes of death in the US?  

Can you imagine how creative, vital, healthy and innovative our country would be if every child had an ACE Score of ZERO!

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study is the largest longitudinal study of its kind to empirically demonstrate that various types of trauma and house­hold dysfunction in childhood significantly increase the risk for physical and mental disease in adulthood. The ACE Study breaks new ground in exposing the physical manifestations of childhood trauma.  The effects of ACEs can last a lifetime, but they don’t have to for our children.  

The cycle can be broken by developing safe, stable, and nurturing relationships that heal the parent and the child.

Breaking the Cycle

Safe & sound equals peaceful

Alliance to End the Hitting of Children is another example of a grassroots organization waging a fierce battle (terribly combative pun, oops... ha, (laughing helps)) against corporal punishment, and taking peaceful measures (that's more like it) to change humanity.

The Regional Child Abuse Prevention Council advises that we focus on protective factors that strengthen families and communities.  Protective factors include:

• POSITIVE DISCIPLINE- Improve parenting skills and knowledge of child development

• PARENT RESILIENCE- Increase our resilience as parents, by taking care of ourselves so we remain calm and capable

Experts in the field of Childhood Abuse and Neglect conclude that ultimate control of the abuse problem lies in changing our societal attitudes towards and acceptance of aggression as an appropriate way to solve problems. 

Leading scholars conclude that reducing corporal punishment is essential to reducing physical abuse.  

Papa Green Bean's Conclusion

We, as a collective group of concerned citizens, need to Stop Spanking. This will lead to dramatic reductions of physical abuse. My vision is a global community in which we are a peaceful and loving civilization, behaving civilly toward each other, raising our offspring to be kind, confident, and creative beings. Being civil requires no spanking in the home, or in public institutions of learning.

Take the test... Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study 

With gratitude, Papa Green Bean