We Want a Better Future
In January, National polling data told us that nearly three fourths of voters, across party lines, said they would be willing to provide local funding for early care and education by increasing their own taxes. As we now head full-steam into the 2022 general election season, we need to be asking candidates: “Are you ready to give the people what they want?”
Hunger and Abuse
We must consider not just the bottom line but long-term impacts that benefits, or cutting benefits, can have on a child and on the generations that follow.
Resources
Food assistance program may help prevent child maltreatment (Ohio State University)
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (Maryland Department of Human Services)
How Head Start Can Help You Access Food Assistance (Head Start)
What Hunger Looks Like in Maryland (Feeding America)
Know the Odds Baby
Taking a four-month old to racetrack? No way. Taking a six-month old? That might just be a sure thing!
Resources
Study Shows Six-Month Old Babies Have a Sense of Probability (SciTech Daily)
Peek A Boo (Parent Trust for Washington Children)
Safe Sleep 2022
The American Academy of Pediatrics has changed their safe sleep recommendations for the first time since 2016. Roughly 3,500 infants die from sleep-related infant deaths annually in the United States but many of these are preventable.
Resources
American Academy of Pediatrics Updates Safe Sleep Recommendations: Back is Best (American Academy of Pediatrics)
Happy Birthday America
Maryland will become a haven for women seeking freedom of reproductive choice. Yet many, mostly poor women of color, will not have access to the refuge Maryland and other states provide. Let’s agree to provide a solid future for their children regardless of our personal politics.
Resources
The Turnaway Study (University of California San Francisco)
The State of America's Children (Children's Defense Fund)
Proud Children and Families
June is Pride Month and children of same sex parents have even more reasons to be proud: they’re doing great. But only when we create systems that support all families, do we all have a reason to be proud.
Resources
The GoGos and Traveling with Toddlers
The GoGo’s summed up what so many of us are thinking right now: “Vacation’s all I ever wanted.” Well, if you’re traveling with a toddler on your vacation, we have some tips for you.
Resources
Traveling With Toddlers: 16 Tips to Make Your Vacation Go Smoothly (U.S. News & World Report)
16 Tips for Flying with Toddlers and Young Kids (Parents)
What to Pack When Traveling With Baby (What to Expect)
Anxiety in Young Children
Signs of an anxiety disorder can begin to appear in early childhood, long before a child even enters kindergarten. The good news is that these are some of the most common mental disorders in children and when diagnosed early, have a far better chance of being managed throughout school and throughout life.
Resources
What the first Canada-wide study of early childhood anxiety tells us about kindergartners (CTV News)
What to Do (and Not Do) When Children Are Anxious (Child Mind Institute)
Anxiety in children (Harvard Health Publishing)
Their Better Angels
Will this be the time National lawmakers finally come together with creativity and desire for change in response to gun violence and its aftermath?
Resources
Gun Violence Prevention (American Academy of Pediatrics)
Mom Skills
Moms have a special set of skills, and they might just be what’s needed during the Great Resignation.