August 5, 2019 For Children’s Long-Term Success, Families Need Paid Leave When a family introduces a new child into their life, the last thing they should have to worry about is if they have the time and money to properly care for and bond with their child. However, families across the Commonwealth are in that exact situation, with many caregivers involuntarily reducing their work hours, changing jobs, or leaving the workforce entirely. Early Interactions Matter While many may associate childhood learning with the education system, learning and development begin much earlier than a child’s first classroom experience. Parents and caregivers are children’s first teachers, and to support the long-term success of the next generation, we need to ensure that all caregivers are afforded the opportunity to care for and bond with their children. In Pennsylvania, there are more than 870,000 children under the age of six. Of those children, 41 percent live in low-income households. While about 51 percent of children birth to age five are in non-parental care for at least 10 hours per week, accessing such services can be difficult and expensive. Due to high costs, limited seats, and child care deserts, families across the Commonwealth are left without access to the affordable, high-quality child care services they need. The difficulties don’t stop there. Without child care access, families have limited options. They can rotate their child through a list of available family members and friends; reduce or shift their work hours; change their profession; or leave the workforce entirely. More often than not, these challenges disproportionately affect women who make up 94 percent of workers that involuntarily work part-time due to child care problems. While these options exist, all of them can lead to negative outcomes, including financial insecurity, inconsistent caregiving, increased family stress, and difficulties reentering the workforce. Research shows that positive interactions with consistent adult caregivers are important during children’s early development, as they optimize the development of brain pathways for the visual and auditory senses, motor and language processing, higher cognitive functioning, and emotional regulation. This challenge is more than just having someone around to look after a child. It’s about establishing the conditions children need to experience success later in life. Current Policy In the current family leave system, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides certain employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year. FMLA was designed to help employees balance their work and family responsibilities, providing this benefit to employees at public agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, and companies with 50 or more employees. However, just because unpaid leave is available does not mean that it is accessible. In January 2019, the National Partnership for Women and Families reported out that unpaid leave under the FMLA is inaccessible for 59 percent of working people. The Family Care Act If Pennsylvania passes the Family Care Act, families will no longer have to choose between remaining financially stable in the workforce and caring for their young child in the most critical period of their life. The Family Care Act establishes a statewide insurance fund, similar to Pennsylvania’s unemployment compensation fund, which allows individuals to draw down a portion of their salary for: Up to 12 weeks to care for a family member with a serious health condition Up to 12 weeks to care for a covered service member as covered under FMLA Up to 20 weeks to care for their own serious health condition Up to 20 weeks to care for a new child after a birth, adoption, or placement through foster care In Pennsylvania, families should come first. To ensure caregivers’ financial security, healthy relationship development, and workplace success, we need to make sure that they have access to the paid leave they need to care for their family. For the long-term personal, academic, and professional success of our youngest generation, we need to pass the Family Care Act. Take Action Paid family leave is not only a family value, it’s also a Pennsylvania value–and that’s a fact. Use your voice to advocate for families by encouraging the state government to pass the Family Care Act. Visit the campaign page to learn more. To stay up-to-date on advocacy opportunities, sign up for Trying Together’s Public Policy newsletter or visit our Take Action page.
August 2, 2019 National Immunization Awareness Month Immunizations (also called shots or vaccinations) help keep us healthy and safe from serious diseases. As August is National Immunization Awareness Month, take this time to check in on which shots you or your child needs and when to get them. About Vaccinations can prevent serious diseases like the flu, measles, and pneumonia. As an example, at age 6 months and older, everyone is highly encouraged to get a flu shot every year. However, many other shots work best when they are administered at certain ages. Talk to your doctor or nurse to make sure that everyone in your family gets the shots they need and use the resources below for access to more information: Do you have a child age six or younger? Find out what shots your child needs. Checking in for yourself as an adult? Use this chart to see if you’re up-to-date on your shots. Are you pregnant? Check out this recommended immunization schedule. Assistance If you can’t afford vaccinations for your child, the PA Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) provides vaccinations at no cost to children who might not otherwise receive them. You can also apply for the PA Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) which includes coverage of vaccinations. For information on the VFC program, call 1.888.646.6864. For information on CHIP, call 1.800.986.5437. Information provided by The Pennsylvania Key
#WeArePPS Event This August, Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) will be hosting its annual back to school event, #WeArePPS. About Every year, the district welcomes thousands of families through this event that is designed to help equip them with the resources necessary to achieve a healthy start to the 2019-20 school year. #WeArePPS is open to all current PPS students and will include a parent resource fair. This event is in alignment with the district’s mission to serve students and schools and create effective family and community partnerships in every school. More Information For more information or questions, call the PPS Parent Hotline at 412.529.HELP (412.529.4357) or email parenthotline@pghschools.org. The hotline operates Monday through Friday, 6:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
August 1, 2019 P.R.I.D.E. Pop Up Mini Art Festival Visit the P.R.I.D.E. Pop Up Mini Art Festivals and experience fun activities designed to help young Black children learn about and celebrate their race, culture, and heritage. Children ages 3 to 8 will enjoy activity stations designed by trained artists and educators. Families are invited to enjoy free food, performances, art, and music! Festival Dates Upcoming festivals will be held at the following locations: Homewood August 24, 2019, 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Homewood YMCA Hill District September 14, 2019, 12:00 – 4:00 p.m. | Hug Me Tight Childlife Center Questions For more information, contact Adam Flango at 412.383.8726 or AdamFlango@pitt.edu. Share this flyer with your network.
July 24, 2019 Tips for Managing Air Travel with Young Children Vacations may seem like fun getaways for families, but with them comes an often dreaded necessity: air travel. While flying with young children can be challenging, Macaroni Kid Centreville‘s Jourdan Card highlighted 10 tips to help you travel like a pro. To read Card’s full article, visit the Macaroni Kid Centreville website. Tip 1: Don’t Overpack Your Carry-On It’s tempting to fill your carry-on to the brim, including any and every item your child might want along the way. But lugging around a heavy bag is exhausting, especially when you have a young child or children to look after. Jourdan Card’s rule of thumb is always one extra outfit per kid and an extra shirt for the adults caring for them. Calculating the total travel time, she also prepares one diaper per hour. If your child uses a pacifier, packing several could be useful. You’ll need extra just in case the first one drops on the floor. Caregivers should also prepare snacks, bottles/formula, and any needed medicines or comfort items. Tip 2: Conquer Security Like A Boss Going through security is already a long process, so families are encouraged to prepare ahead of time to avoid additional delays. Card recommends wearing as little extra clothing as possible, because scarves, hats, belts, and other loose items will all have to come off. She recommends simple clothing such as well-fitting pants, a shirt, and tennis shoes. In addition to this, she recommends pulling out any mobile devices, food, and liquids before getting in line so they’re ready to go instead of trying to get them out of the bag last minute. To make this easier, you can put the items in clear, ziplock backs so security can check them quickly as well. Tip 3: Keep Your Hands Available Card recommends babywearing through security, that way you can gate-check your stroller for free. If your stroller is small enough to fit on the conveyer belt, it has to go through, so make sure you know how to fold it quickly ahead of time. If the stroller is too big, it will have to go through the metal detector and receive a manual screening. Tip 4: Potty Break Allow for extra time to get through security and go to the bathroom before your flight. It’s not the easiest process to change a young child in an airplane bathroom, so this is highly recommended! Tip 5: The Muli-Bag System During her family trips, Card usually carries a decent-sized backpack to store everyone’s items. But in addition to that, she packs some reusable grocery bags. Placing each child’s stuff in their own grocery bag, Card allows her children to keep their things separate on the plane, that way the children have easy access to their items and feel control over their items. Tip 6: Bring Your Children’s Favorites In her example, Card mentions that her toddler loved milk. But she learned the hard way that milk isn’t always available on planes. Because of this, she recommends buying some of your child’s favorites in the shops after you go through security. It’ll keep your child calm on the ride. Tip 7: Create A Busy Binder Before going on trips, Card puts together a binder full of ziplock bags, each storing a simple activity. When her kids get cranky or bored during the trip, she pulls them out for some needed fun! Tip 8: Headphones While many airlines have small televisions in the seatbacks, the headphones they provide can often be too big for young children’s ears, which means they’re going to be falling out or off constantly. If you’re going to have access to any digital tech, Card recommends bringing kid-sized headphones so they can watch their favorite shows without disturbing others. Tip 9: Car Seats On Airplanes Double-check that your car seat is TSA approved, there will be a small sticker on the back or side letting you know. If it is, you’re legally allowed to bring your child’s car seat on the plane. However, if you choose to use a car seat in lieu of a lap-held infant (2 and under), each person must have their own purchased seat. Tip 10: Proof of ID It’s not guaranteed to happen, but some airline staff may request proof of your child’s age. Card recommends being prepared by carrying a copy of your children’s birth certificates just in case. *Information collected from Macaroni Kid Centreville
July 22, 2019 Family Check-Up Helps Families Build & Grow Together The day-to-day challenges of raising children aren’t easy, but families don’t have to do it alone. At the Homewood-Brushton Family Support Center, Family Check-Up offers an opportunity for all families to take a seat, talk about their challenges, and move forward with strategies to solve them. About Family Check-Up In family support centers across the nation, the Family Check-Up (FCU) model aims to promote child and family well-being by providing parents and caregivers with new skills and tools to strengthen family relationships. The program starts off with an initial interview and an assessment of the family’s strengths and needs, followed by creating tailored goals to meet the unique needs of each family. A final feedback session provides an opportunity to continue building parenting skills through the “Everyday Parenting Curriculum” and information on possible follow-up services. All services are free and confidential. Benefits of Participation For more than 20 years, research has shown that participating in FCU: increases parent and caregiver confidence, reduces family stress and conflict, and reduces challenging behaviors displayed by preschoolers, school-aged children, and teens. Schedule an Appointment Interested in signing up? Schedule an appointment by contacting Family Coach, Adriana Chung, at 412.727.6649. See our interview with Adriana to learn more.
July 18, 2019 Eye Contact with Babies Increases Information Coupling A recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes that shared eye contact increases information coupling between infant and adult brains. About Communication is a fundamental part of life, especially when considering the early learning and development of a newborn child. In conversation, we use different types of social signals, both verbal and non-verbal, to share meaning with others. These signals can include things such as mimicking facial expressions, vocal tone, and eye contact. However, a recent study concluded that eye contact in specific can be a powerful tool to increase information coupling between infants and adults. Information Coupling In the study, researchers state that “previous research indicates that when communication is successful, close temporal dependencies arise between adult speakers’ and listeners’ neural activity.” Through these dependencies, an individual that’s communicating with another person can have varying levels of influence on the other person’s neural activity. In short, this coupling acts as a form of “social connectedness,” where the actions, reactions, and expressions of a person impacts how another person’s brain responds. For adults interacting with young children, using social signals such as direct eye contact can bring the child and adult’s “brains into temporal alignment, creating a joint-networked state that is structured to facilitate information sharing during early communication and learning.” Temporal alignment between adults and infants is important, as it “plays a vital role in supporting early learning across multiple domains of language, cognition, and socioemotional development.” Infants spend a lot of time looking at the faces of others, interpreting the way their facial features move, where their eyes shift to, and how their voices sound. And as they rely on these social cues to interpret meaning in their daily life, direct gaze is thought to be one of the most important cues for individuals and infants to infer communicative intent. Babies prefer to look at the face people who are looking right at them, with direct gaze even reinforcing the social responses that babies produce and their ability to recognize face-related information. Conclusion In conclusion, adults working or living with infants should consider using direct eye contact frequently with their child. Whether an adult is playing with, reading with, bathing, or even singing a nursery rhyme to a child, shared eye contact can act to build strong communication and information sharing between the two. To learn more about the importance of speaker gaze, read the full report. Article Citation Leong, Victoria, et al. “Speaker Gaze Increases Information Coupling between Infant and Adult Brains.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 12 Dec. 2017, www.pnas.org/content/114/50/13290.
July 16, 2019 Parent-Child Interaction Are you looking to engage in an educational experience with your young child? Join other caregivers and their young children for creative STEM-based activities. Together, parent and child will interact with each other and socialize with other families to grow, learn, and play! Learn More To learn more, contact Neil Walker at 412.728.2892 or neil@tryingtogether.org. Share this flyer with your network.
July 15, 2019 KidsPlay at Market Square KidsPlay provides free interactive and educational programming for children in Market Square, with local partners including Science Tots, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, KidsBurgh, the Senator John Heinz History Center, and more. Active Dates Tuesdays, June 4 – August 27, 2019 | 10 – 11:30 a.m. Saturdays, June 8 – August 31, 2019 | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Learn More To see a list of upcoming activities, visit the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership website.
July 8, 2019 10 Questions to Ask: Child Care Emergency Plan In a recent article, Child Care Aware of America reported out that 38 percent of parents were unsure of their child care provider’s emergency plan, with another 7 percent stating that their program doesn’t have one. To ensure your child’s safety, Child Care Aware recommends that caregivers be proactive by asking their child care provider these 10 questions. Recommended Questions Do you have an emergency preparedness plan for disasters that are likely to occur in our area? How will you safely evacuate my child to a safe, predetermined location? How and when will I be notified if a disaster occurs when my child is in child care? If I can’t get to my child during or after a disaster, how will you continue to care for my child? Have you and your staff received training on how to respond to my child’s physical and emotional needs during and after a disaster; for example, are all staff first aid and CPR-certified? Will you teach my older child what to do in an emergency? Do you have a disaster/supply kit with enough items to meet my child’s needs for at least 72 hours? Do the state and local emergency management agencies and responders know about your child care program and where it is located? How may I help you during and after a disaster? After a disaster occurs, how will I be notified about your plan to reopen? More Information For more information, visit www.childcareprepare.org. *Information provided by Child Care Aware of America
