Social & Emotional Development

June 21, 2019

MaryLee Allen was a brilliant, passionate, persevering, caring servant leader—not a self-serving leader—committed to helping build a world fit for children. When the Children’s Defense Fund was brand new, I was searching for smart, passionate people to help with our earliest work. One of the very...

MomsRising Together

Marian Wright Edelman

Childcare & Early Education Politics & Policy Social & Emotional Development

June 21, 2019

What kind of pizza are you? What does the kind of pet you have say about your personality? Which U.S. city is your perfect fit? Quizzes like these are all over Facebook and other social networks. For kids, online personality tests are as compelling as the Hogwarts Sorting Hat: They define you at...

MomsRising Together

Caroline Knorr

Childcare & Early Education Families & The Federal Budget MomsRising Social & Emotional Development

June 20, 2019

Cross-armed and teary-eyed parents sat across from me, listening to me speak about the issues in their children’s classroom. They took a deep unified breath after I stated clearly, “There’s no such thing as a bully in a preschool classroom.” One parent stood to walk out before their partner asked...

MomsRising Together

Lina Acosta Sandaal

Childcare & Early Education Social & Emotional Development

May 31, 2019

As the school year ends and families look ahead to summer plans, I hope many will be able to consider travel that is not just a vacation, but an education and inspiration. Several years ago I had the opportunity to take my granddaughters with me to Selma, Alabama, where they got to meet Mrs. Amelia...

MomsRising Together

Marian Wright Edelman

Social & Emotional Development

May 24, 2019

I was deeply sorry to hear of the passing of my friend Mayor Unita Blackwell. She was one of a kind. She was always laughing and making other people laugh and she never stopped growing, learning, rolling with the punches, and punching back when she had to. As a civil rights activist, a member of...

MomsRising Together

Marian Wright Edelman

Childcare & Early Education Social & Emotional Development

May 23, 2019

For some kids, summer means getting on the computer and not getting off 'til September. And even though a lot of parents relax their screen limits over the break, allowing a full-on hibernation is just not gonna happen . And it shouldn't. Kids need to get outside, of course. But they also need to...

MomsRising Together

Caroline Knorr

Childcare & Early Education Families & The Federal Budget Family Economic Security Politics & Policy Social & Emotional Development

May 15, 2019

I love birthdays -- it’s a chance to celebrate life and mark the start of another trip around the sun. And this week marks the 54th birthday of one of our country’s most successful early learning programs: Head Start! Happy Birthday Head Start! Instead of balloons and cake to celebrate though, we...

MomsRising Together

Lauren Hipp

Childcare & Early Education Family Economic Security Maternal Justice Paid Family Leave Social & Emotional Development

May 10, 2019

Media has a huge influence on kids -- and as kids get older, the online world has an even tighter grip on them. You can see it in the way they imitate their favorite TV characters, pretend to be YouTube stars, or beg for T-shirts, backpacks, or comforters emblazoned with logos. But parents still...

MomsRising Together

Caroline Knorr

Childcare & Early Education Social & Emotional Development

April 19, 2019

4/20 Day -- the celebration of marijuana that occurs every year on April 20 -- gets more popular every year. And while you probably haven't heard too much about it, your kids likely have. That's because 4/20 awareness spreads mostly on the sites and apps that attract tweens and teens, such as...

MomsRising Together

Caroline Knorr

Social & Emotional Development

April 17, 2019

We are living through trying times as a nation when many are longing for justice. Sometimes it seems, in the words of poet James Russell Lowell, we are watching “Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne.” But hope comes every day from the groundswell of people still refusing to...

MomsRising Together

Marian Wright Edelman