The Raising of America
Early Childhood and the Future of our Nation
First of a five-part film series
Situation of childhood in America
How can we invest in children?
Better for everyone
Companion website raisingofamerica.org
Begin to have these discussions.
How can we make our place healthy for children to be raised?
Bringing people together, having the discussions — What can we do?
Public television broadcast at the end of the year.
This film is the opening umbrella hour.
Book to accompany the film – Westa – research is so strong that something needs to be done: Book: For Our Babies
Forming book clubs and discussion groups about it.
Point is to work together and to think long term. We have to do something.
Chapter 7 is free and downloadable online.
Good place for pieces of information for writing grants.
DVD series comes with public performance rights — special low price for libraries.
Not the kind of thing we have a blueprint. It’s a tool for local conversations.
It’s so much deeper than kids being ready to read. Parents may know what they should do, but not have the resources.
Libraries should be helping facilitating these conversations.
In San Diego they’re working with the Brazelton Institute to build on parental strengths — parents tend to be afraid they’re not enough.
They were trying to reframe the conversation about early childhood — the larger context of policy.
Why do we accept all this as normal? Why do we make parenting so much harder?
Why is it acceptable for government to make a favorable climate for Wall Street but not for children?
Who are the stakeholders? Maybe start with companies who are starting to get concerned about this. They started in San Diego with the largest employer.
Anything you can do to improve the lives of young families.
Build slowly, but it will grow.
For Our Babies campaign is trying to link together people behind this.
The only way to create change in this country is to speak loudly.
Not spending a lot of time with the naysayers.
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