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Childcare & Early Education

Tots Rock the Washington State Capitol!

February 9, 2010
Last Friday, February 5th we held an all-ages-sing-along-dance-party with in the Washington State Capitol Rotunda to make sure Washington legislators don't forget about kids and families this legislative session. The fantastic parents, tots and friends that joined us proved that Political Activism...
Sarah Francis's picture

State of the Union: Don't Lose the Family Amidst the Headlines

January 27, 2010
In listening to the political commentators prepare for the State of the Union Address tonight, most of them are telling the President that he must reframe the discussion, have courage, and focus on jobs, jobs, jobs. I think that the President is doing something quite courageous that SADLY may be...

Private Cost, Public Gain

January 26, 2010
From Your (Wo)manInWashington blog MOTHERS changing the conversation @ www.MothersOughtToHaveEqualRights.org The U.S. spends very little public money on children, and a great deal of public money on older people. The reason for this has to do with our cultural attitudes towards privacy and the...
Valerie Young's picture

Hungry children can't wait!

January 9, 2010
'I ask why they don't have any energy, and they say they haven't had enough to eat,' Jackson said. 'Then I talk to their mothers and they tell me there's no food in the house. It breaks my heart every day,' says program director Rita Jackson." Washington Post 1 in 4 children in our nation are on...
Sarah Francis's picture

Olympia, WA day one

December 3, 2009
To start, I am a 25 year old mommy of three, all under the age of 6!! As most parents do I think my little ones are amazing and I wanted to be as active as I could in their educations and lives. I got started in Head Start a year ago and with my oldest son and quickly got involved in the Policy...

A Staggering Statistic

November 24, 2009
As a new mom, I quickly learned what a cry of hunger sounds like. I was amazed by how quickly that cry drove me to action -- no mom can ignore that sound. Unfortunately, in today's economy, more and more families don't have the resources to answer those cries. In fact, a recent USDA study found...
Sarah Francis's picture

Making Our Children Healthier By Expanding Their Access To Nutritious Food

November 24, 2009
Too often lost in the debate over health care reform is the importance of preventive measures such as exercise and healthy eating to ensure that a doctor's visit is less likely to be needed in the first place. This is especially true for children whose early brain development and future health...
Kirsten Gillibrand's picture

Most dramatic mad dash EVER!

November 18, 2009
Almost every parent has a story about trying to find childcare or the mad dash to pick your child up on time. But this one really takes the cake: Sgt. Kimberly D. Munley, mother of two, and a first responder at the scene of the shooting at Fort Hood last week, was shot three times while trying to...
Sarah Francis's picture

Motherhood's Enlightment

November 10, 2009
As a mother, I have felt the burden and struggle of raising a family, pursuing a career and making ends meet for a very long time. I am not alone. As a nation we must step down off our “family values” soapbox; listen to mothers; and get real about creating and enforcing sustainable and effective policies that support the importance of the family unit. Then and only then will true enlightenment be attained.

Paycheck Jobs, Paycheck Feminism

October 30, 2009
I’ve been on a one-woman campaign to resurrect the phrase, paycheck job , used by Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique forty years ago. Friedan was referring, of course, to jobs outside the home for which people receive money. She recognized that the unpaid job of caring for children and home was...
Nanette Fondas's picture

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