By Sarah Walzer

(EXCERPT)

These past several weeks, our early learning specialists have reported that so many of the families we work with are worried about having enough food, enough diapers, enough cleaning supplies to get through the week, the month. They are isolated and scared. They are worried about their children and trying under such oppressive circumstances to continue reading, talking, playing, soothing and reassuring. And in that, they are succeeding, sharing wonderful pictures and videos of their virtual visits, their own playing and reading. Virtual visits have connected families to vital resources, and connecting families to joy as well, with online book readings in English, Spanish, Mandarin and Vietnamese, a voice of comfort in these extremely vulnerable times.

But we can’t do it alone. Tech companies can donate devices, government leaders can move to make WiFi more available to communities that need it most, and everyone can get policy updates from Zero to Three or CLASP on the early childhood issues arising in this crisis to advocate for what’s needed. Surely, donations to organizations that support low-income families are not far from anyone’s mind, either. And protecting and advocating for those essential workers who risk their health every day, and supporting those who have been laid off in the cleaning, landscaping, restaurant and other service industries can go a long way — after all, many of these workers are the parents of the families who have been impacted the most.

Read the full article here.