Childcare & Early Education

September 15, 2009

In a moment of maternal defeat, I decided that my son's future wife will just have to deal with his attachment to pacifiers. Yes, we all have our early challenges. And some, like affordable quality preschool and childcare, are bigger than others. So, it's music to my ears that Congress just introduced the new Early Learning Challenge Fund to Address some key early learning challenges.

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Sarah Francis

Childcare & Early Education

September 15, 2009

As an advocate, I want to see the millions of vulnerable children realize their potential. As a mom, I want my son and daughter to grow up with other kids who share their love of learning. By raising the quality of our nation’s early childhood education programs and increasing access to them, we can fundamentally change not only our children’s future, but our nation’s as well.

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Catherine Atkin

Childcare & Early Education

July 26, 2009

Despite billions of dollars in stimulus funds pumped into school systems across the country, districts in urban and rural settings alike will open their doors this fall with as many as 45 students in class. I have written about this before, but still, reading this story by the Associated Press left...

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Elisa Batista

Childcare & Early Education

July 6, 2009

More parents than ever are balancing work and raising children. When I was growing up, just over one-third of mothers with young children worked outside the home. Today, it’s nearly two-thirds. The cost of quality child care is steadily increasing across New York. families across New York are...

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Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Childcare & Early Education

June 20, 2009

When my daughters, now ages 22 and 25, were growing up, I knew better than to forbid them to do something. It’s the quickest way to make that forbidden activity all the more tempting. I find it interesting that Stephanie Meyer’s novel Twilight has an apple on its cover, the original forbidden fruit...

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Carmen Siering

Childcare & Early Education Health Care

June 19, 2009

If my family budget was in such deep crisis that I didn't have enough money to feed my kids, I would turn over every cushion looking for spare change, get a weekend job, or sell things in a yard sale. I'd do anything I could to find new ways to bring new money in the door before eliminating the...

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Anita Sarah Jackson

Childcare & Early Education Environmental Health Health Care Food!

June 17, 2009

Which of the following is considered a junk food according to national school nutrition standards? A. Hi-C Blast - vitamin fortified sugar water B. Poland Springs seltzer water - water with bubbles C. French fries D. Candy Bars If you guessed A, C or D you'd be wrong. Believe it or not, seltzer...

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Joan Blades

Childcare & Early Education

May 28, 2009

When I was a kid I wasn’t allowed to watch anything but PBS. I was completely out of the loop and constantly teased for my lameness. I will never do that to my kids! Kids loving TV is a reality for parents, and it can be a positive force. But a SurveyUSA poll of 1000 parents finds that more...

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Morra Aarons-Mele

Childcare & Early Education

May 15, 2009

Does the Second Shift still apply? I’m re-reading Arlie Hochschild’s 1989 classic in preparing a syllabus for a course on 21st Century feminism. Hochschild’s findings were clear and familiar to many women: when they get home from work, many women with children work a “second shift” of domestic and...

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Morra Aarons-Mele

Childcare & Early Education

May 15, 2009

My name's Joan, and I live in Lynwood, CA. I've never visited a legislator's office before, but I decided to take the plunge when I got the email from MomsRising about bringing Lifesaver candies to a local member of the CA Assembly. I was a little nervous at first, but it turned out to be a lot of...

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Joan Hall