10th Annual Joining Hands for Week of the Young Child - Updated

Update: The Alabama Partnership for Children (APC) is cancelling the 10th annual Joining Hands for Week of the Young Child event that was scheduled for April 9th at the State House. APC has learned that this year’s legislative session (which was on the calendar to end April 28th) is on track to end as early as April 7th, so legislators will have left the State House and returned to their home districts by the event date of April 9th. In light of this new information, you are encouraged to engage lawmakers in your local community as they return home from the legislative session. In keeping with previous years, child advocates across the state should coordinate with anyone that works with young children to collect handprints that children have traced and decorated. 

Please keep all handprints and DO NOT mail to the APC. If you have already mailed handprints, these handprints will be returned and should be mailed or personally delivered to your legislators and city officials.

If you are interested in celebrating Week of the Young Child by advocating for young children in your local community, visit www.legislature.state.al.us to determine local contact information for your legislators. State lawmakers are always interested in hearing from constituents on the issues that are important to them. Don’t be afraid to invite legislators to your facility and be sure to engage them in any Week of the Young Child activities you may have planned. Listed below are some easy ways to celebrate Week of the Young Child:

• Visit your local lawmaker and deliver child handprint artwork to remind them of the needs of young children. 
• Host a day at the mall, with activities for children and information for parents from family service organizations. 
• Have a children’s parade through town. 
• Have a proclamation signed by a city government official. 
• Post art done by children in local restaurants and businesses. 
• Decorate community store windows to promote the celebration. 
• Have an art project set up at a child care center for parents and children to do together. 
• Support programs that provide quality early childhood education by volunteering at a local school, community center, Head Start, or child care program. 
• Have local newspapers cover activities during the week. 
• Have an award for parents to nominate someone they think is an exceptional friend of young children. 
• Educate yourself and others about the importance of quality early childhood education in preparing young children for school. 

The Alabama Partnership for Children would love to know of any activities planned in local communities. Contact mpiggott[at]smartstartalabama[dot]org or call toll-free (866) 711-4025.

Reframing the Mental Health Issue

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Dr. Paul Dworkin, of the Help Me Grow National Center, has updated his blog again! This month focuses on mental health...

In a January 2014 New York Times op-ed column, Nicholas Kristof invited readers to suggest topics that deserve more attention this year. He offered up the topic of mental health as a systematically neglected issue.

I am confident that few of us disagree with him. Kristof lamented the “code of silence” around the topic, noting that the media tends to cover only mental health issues that arise in the context of extreme situations, such as mass shootings, despite the weak link between mental illness and violence...

Follow this link to read more about the role Help Me Grow is playing in early childhood mental health.

HMG: An Overview

We're looking forward to expanding Help Me Grow Alabama to more areas of the state in the future. Take 4 minutes and check out this video from the Help Me Grow National Center that briefly explains the model we plan to implement.

Get Vaccinated!

Parents must make thousands of healthcare decisions for their children over the course of their lives. Immunizations are crucial to disease prevention and have multiple benefits. Consider the following statements from the Department of Health and Human Services:

- Immunizations can save a child’s life. Because of advances in medical science, children can be protected against more diseases than ever before. Some diseases that once injured or killed thousands of children, have been eliminated completely and others are close to extinction– primarily due to safe and effective vaccines.

- Vaccination is very safe and effective. Vaccines are only given to children after a long and careful review by scientists, doctors, and healthcare professionals.

- Immunization protects others. Unfortunately, some babies are too young to be completely vaccinated and some people may not be able to receive certain vaccinations. To help keep them safe, it is important that children who are able to get vaccinated are fully immunized. This helps prevent the spread of these diseases to friends and loved ones.

- Vaccinations can save time and money. A child with a vaccine-preventable disease can be denied attendance at schools or child care facilities. In contrast, getting vaccinated against these diseases is a good investment and usually covered by insurance.

- Immunization protects future generations. Vaccines have reduced and, in some cases, eliminated many diseases that killed or severely disabled people just a few generations ago. If we continue vaccinating now, and vaccinating completely, parents in the future may be able to trust that some diseases of today will no longer be around to harm children in the future.

The Vaccines For Children (VFC) program is a federally funded program that provides vaccines at no cost to children from low-income families. To find out more about the VFC program, visit http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/index.html. To learn more about specific vaccines or other information about immunizations, visit www.vaccines.gov.

Developing a Second Language

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Learning a second language is something that everyone can benefit from at any age. At birth, a child has no language comprehension, but already has the building blocks with which to learn. Teaching a child early on to speak multiple languages has been proven to help students while learning.

It’s a common misconception that dual language learning may cause speech delays, when in fact, the opposite may be true. Bilingual children often know more total words (in both languages combined) than children who speak only one language. Of course, being bilingual also helps to enable social and career opportunities in the future. Once in the teen years and older, the brain does not process language learning the same way as it does in childhood. To learn some ideas for getting started, check out this article from Parents Magazine and this one from PBS.

The Sound of Music

Music education helps children learn on many different levels, and music therapy is an important field that reduces stress for many children. Consider some of the numerous ways music education can help a child:
- Learning to use multiple skill sets at the same time (singing, dancing, playing an instrument)
- Helping develop part of the brain that processes languages
- Absorbing new information through music and making connections with it
- Exercising the brain - scientists have noticed more neural activity in children who have music education compared to children who haven’t had any musical training
- Improving fine motor skills and sound cognition
- Increasing spatial intelligence and the ability to visualize different elements working together
- Solving problems that arise with architecture, engineering, math, art, gaming, and working with computers

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Learning an instrument, singing, and dancing have so many intrinsic benefits that can help a child abundantly. What is your experience with music education or music therapy? Leave a comment below!

For more information about music education, check out this PBS article. To learn more about music therapy, see this article featuring a program at the University of Alabama.

Starting the New Year Fresh and Clean

As you start off the new year, you may have been thinking about positive changes you can make in your life and your family's. If you've been considering improving cleanliness and hygiene, the following ideas might help! We know convincing a child of the importance of hygiene and instilling healthy habits can be a challenge. Here are a few helpful hints as children age and begin to take on more responsibility for their own cleanliness.

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- Routine: Children thrive on routine. Once they perform these tasks daily, they will begin to accept them as the norm.
- Fun: Make a beard out of those bath bubbles or turn a runny nose into a horn blowing impression. Children love repeating fun tasks.
- Example: Let them witness you getting ready or washing your hands before you cook. Your child won’t naturally pick up on these habits; he needs to see them practiced!
- Talk: Explain the importance of grooming. Children are naturally curious creatures, so explaining germs can help them understand why hygiene is so important.
- Reward: When a child knows that they have a new toothbrush or a cool bath toy waiting for them to use, the task is less of a chore and more of an exciting new experience.

Let us know some of your favorite ways to keep your child clean in the comments. For more tips and ideas, check out this article!