Masking for Munchkins
Hopefully it’s second nature for your child to be masked at this point in the pandemic. Afterall, the CDC recommends masks for all children over the age of two years whenever indoors other than at home. But if they’re still struggling here are a few helpful tips.
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Jigsaw Puzzles and the Big Picture
Jigsaw puzzles and their hundreds of pieces can seem overwhelming. That is until you look at the picture to guide you. Building and early childhood system is the same. When we look at the big picture – decades of research to show us what works and why – it becomes not only something we can do it becomes something we must do.
Resources
Jigsaw puzzles and their hundreds of pieces can seem overwhelming. That is until you look at the picture to guide you. Building and early childhood system is the same. When we look at the big picture – decades of research to show us what works and why – it becomes not only something we can do it becomes something we must do.
Equitable Child Care
The Biden administration has openly supported improving access to child care for all families. Doing so equitably will require listening to providers and parents to meet the needs of all children. The Center for American Progress released a report this year titled 6 Ways to Ensure Preschool Contributes to an Equitable Early Childhood System. We agree with their recommendations.
Resources
6 Ways to Ensure Preschool Contributes to an Equitable Child Care System (Center for American Progress)
Fact Sheet: The American Families Plan (The White House)
COVID and Latinas
If you have not received your COVID vaccine or refuse to wear a mask in public you’re partly contributing to the striking new data indicating that roughly one in four Latina women in the U.S. have lost a family member to the virus.
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Update: Coronavirus Case Rates and Death Rates for Latinos in the United States (Salud America!)
For U.S. Latinos, COVID-19 Has Taken a Personal and Financial Toll (Pew Research Center)
Get Some Sleep
New parents are always going to face a lack of sleep. But when that sleep deprivation starts to take a toll on their long-term health shouldn’t we look for solutions to help out? Paid Family Leave may be one answer.
Resources
New Mothers’ Sleep Loss Linked to Accelerated Aging (UCLA)
Defining Chronological and Biological Age (Very Well Health)
Paid Leave Means a Stronger Maryland (Time to Care)
COVID and the Delta Variant
For parents of very young children, the conflicting temptation to cover your child in bubble wrap while also wanting them to fully explore the world is justified. Afterall, doctors are reporting seeing more and more infants and children with COVID each day. We have tips to keep them safe.
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Breastfeeding and COVID
100 million. That’s how many lactating moms there are in the world at any given moment. So if you’re anxious about breastfeeding your baby after getting the COVID-19 vaccine, rest assured, you are far from alone. Scientists feel confident, though, that it’s safe.
Resources
COVID-19 Vaccines While Pregnant or Breastfeeding (CDC)
No Sign of COVID-19 Vaccine in Breast Milk (University of California San Francisco)
Newborns Won't Get COVID Through Infected Mom's Breast Milk: Study (Brigham and Women's Hospital)
Breastfeeding and COVID-19 (WHO)
Child Tax Credit
The IRS has started distributing payments for the child tax credit. It’s a welcome boost to tens of millions of American families with young children.
Resources
Advance Child Tax Credit Payments in 2021 (IRS)
The Child Tax Credit (The White House)
Up in Smoke
Vaping may seem safer than smoking cigarettes. But women who use electronic cigarettes during pregnancy are 33% more likely than those who don’t to give birth to low-birthweight infants. Quitting altogether is the best option for mother and child.
Resources
Women Who Vape Are More Likely to Have Low-birthweight Babies, Study Shows (UCLA)
What We Know About Electronic Cigarettes (SmokeFree.gov)
Quitting Vaping? 5 Tips for Handling Nicotine Withdrawal (Truth Initiative)
Curious Pre-K
Experts at Rutgers University may have uncovered the sweet spot where children move from uncertainty to curiosity. This is big news for learning!
Resources
Just Enough Information Will Motivate Young Children to Learn, Drive Curiosity (Rutgers Today)
8 Tips to Develop Children's Curiosity (Mayo Clinic)