Invest in their futures
As our nation experiences unprecedented crises, children and their families, particularly infants and toddlers, must be recognized as our greatest resource and treated as our highest priority.
13 Mar 2024
We all know that the best time to learn a second language is our early years. Children are sponges and can pick up a new language way faster than any young adult. However, parents and educators must navigate how to effectively support preschoolers with English as an additional language during their formative years.
Devoting ample time to child talk sessions is essential for fostering meaningful language experiences, where communication transcends mere repetition of sounds. It's imperative for children not only to parrot words but also to construct their own sentences and attribute meaning to them.
Our country is at a tipping point, and our children’s futures hang in the balance.
The converging crises of COVID-19, ongoing racial injustice, and severe economic instability nationwide threaten the success of our children and our future. For many families, lack of access to basic needs like food, health care, child care, and housing are already a challenge — made worse by COVID-19, and felt more acutely in families of color and those with lower incomes. Child development doesn’t stop when crises happen. We can’t stop either.
In this moment of unprecedented hardship, we have a choice: we can help our kids thrive or allow them to struggle. Our country is at its best when we recognize that children and their families, particularly those in the prenatal to three period, are our greatest resource. They must be our highest priority and they need our investment now. This is our chance to make a powerful public commitment to our youngest generation. Their promise is our future.
#KidsAreEssential is bringing together a broad coalition of partners who work across issues not necessarily associated with children. Whether we work on housing, food insecurity, gender equity, immigration, or a whole host of other issues, we believe that we all have a stake in kids’ futures. Together, we are calling on our policymakers at all levels of government to invest in children and their families as early as possible, and address the economic, racial, and health disparities that were made worse by the pandemic.
We believe—in regular times and even more in times of crisis—that #KidsAreEssential. We are calling for a strong and sustained public investment in young children and their families that addresses the threats of COVID-19 and sets them up for success beyond it. When you invest in kids and families, even before birth, you invest in the future. It’s time we acknowledge that kids are our greatest resource and treat them as our highest priority. Kids can’t wait.
As our leaders make decisions to help our country recover from a pandemic that has devastated our nation, we have an opportunity to make real changes to the ways we support children and their families. When we commit to the idea that #KidsAreEssential—and when we ensure that children and families have what they need to thrive—we are laying the groundwork for a better future for all of us.
Ensuring family economic security through affordable access to food, health care, housing, and transportation
Increasing access to affordable, high-quality child care, particularly for infants and toddlers
Ensuring paid family, medical, and sick leave for all working families
Prioritizing maternal and child health before, during, and after pregnancy
Centering mental health as a necessary foundation for later success
Share the following posts on social media to join the conversation on how to support young kids and their families in this critical moment.
We can’t allow the converging crises of #COVID19, racial injustice, and economic instability to threaten our kids’ futures. We’re launching #KidsAreEssential because right now, kids must be our greatest priority.
Learn more at www.kidsareessential.org
#KidsAreEssential in and out of crisis. Our society needs to invest in kids and their families as early as possible. It’s time to address the economic, racial, and health disparities that were made worse by the pandemic. Take action—today.
Join us: www.kidsareessential.org
We believe that #KidsAreEssential: now and for our future. Sign up to learn more about how you can support an investment in kids and their families that addresses the health, economic, and racial inequity crises made worse by the pandemic.
