My district has a heavy focus on
literacy so I looked into the resources about literacy this week available on
the Zero to Three website. Focusing
on literacy, there are many videos and other resources available to help
children birth to age three with literacy. Many of the resources are
parent-directed but these would be great to use as recommendations for parents.
While exploring the website, I also
found a section about Paid Family Leave that brought some statistics to my
attention about paid time off. It is alarming that so many workplaces do not
give any paid time off for a mother to bond with their child, as that is so
important for healthy development. According to the Zero to Three organization, only 25% of women are offered maternity
leave through their workplace and only 9% of men are given paternity leave
(Zero to Three, 2014). Add zero maternity leave to families already living in
low-income or poverty and the cycle of low income will just continue as there
is no time, money, or energy for improvements.
There is an entire area about
federal policy that includes many different resources about budget and funding
for early childhood. In this section, there are reasons that politicians should
support infants and toddler, the science behind brain development, not to mention
information about the federal budget in relation to early childhood programs.
The website Zero to Three really gives a lot of information for the advocacy of
programs and families of infants and toddlers. There is a lot of information
about how laws happen and who is responsible for what. Politicians play a huge
role in early childhood but I did not realize just how much until looking
through documents on this website.
References
Zero to Three. www.zerotothree.org
I agree, it is amazing how much politicians and others have so much influence on early childhood though it seems minimal in the field. I am interested in viewing the zero to three website to see what insight they give on what politicians are trying to do for the children of our future!
ReplyDeleteWow! The percentage is shockingly low for the amount of mothers that are granted eligibility for maternity leave. I feel as though the first 6 weeks after the child is born are extremely important when it comes to the bond that the mother and child forms as well as the determiner of the attachment style between the mother and child. I feel as though mothers should be granted PAID maternity leave.
ReplyDeleteRobin,
ReplyDeleteGreat post and observation on the topic of paid family leave. What I have found to be is that, yes, the family does not get paid for this extended "much needed time" to recover mentally and physically after giving birth. Part time are not paid for the 6weeks off so of course they will not be paid for any time off beyond that. This, too, is important for positive child development for if the mother and/father are stressed daily,this can affect the development and structure of brain and cognitive growth due to the stressed environment.
Paid family leave was very informative. This something that we don't offer and I understand it. We only get paid leave if we have time saved. This is a great idea.
ReplyDelete