Your Investment In Your Children Is Invaluable

I had the opportunity to meet one of my heroes, Marian Wright Edelman, when she gave the 1997 Tanner Lecture on Human Values at UCSF. She has been an effective and vocal champion for children’s needs and well-being for over 50 years. I consider her to be a wise elder stateswoman, a fearless truth teller, and an untiring worker for the good of all children and American society. She is an attorney and civil rights advocate, the first African American woman admitted to the Mississippi Bar, and is the founder and president of The Children’s Defense Fund, established in the early 1970s.

Her lecture at UCSF was on Standing for Children. She advocated that individuals like you and me not become overwhelmed by the multiple problems in our society that rob children of their potential for a healthy life. She encouraged us to endeavor in whatever small ways we each can to persistently work to create opportunities for children and families to thrive and for our society to become more civil and just.

 Raising a child is by no means a small endeavor. It is probably the single most important contribution to society you or I will make over our lifetimes. Providing a stable, loving, healthy environment for a child is the bedrock of personal and cultural well-being. Children who are given security, love, respect and high regard, time and attention, limits and wise guidance, good nutrition, healthcare, and education have the best opportunity to live happy, healthy, productive lives and pass on that well-being to a new generation. This is what we want for all children, not just our own. There are special children’s champions like Marian Wright Edelman, and there are special organizations dedicated to children’s advocacy. Their vision, leadership and passion are necessary to bring change for the better on the community, state, and national levels. But it is the everyday moms and dads like you who are doing the hard work of building long-term well-being in our society through your loving care and provision for your families. This is a huge gift you are giving your children and the world at large.

 I hope you will never discount the significance of all the things you do every single day to make a healthy and happy life for your children. It’s the most important work there is, and each of you is an unsung hero. The Kidspace staff is here to support your family in all the ways we can. We know parenting is challenging and exhausting…and also rewarding. So, here’s to you, Kidspace parents, for all the time, love, wisdom, and care you are investing in your children’s lives. Bravo, and thank you!

If it would interest you to read in detail what children need from their parents in order to thrive, I recommend to you a highly regarded book by two other of my heroes, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and Dr. Stanley I. Greenspan, titled The Irreducible Needs of Children, What Every Child Must Have to Grow Learn and Flourish (available in our parent lending library). Here is a link to a very brief on-line synopsis of these six irreducible human needs that they identify: 1) Ongoing Nurturing Relationships, 2) Physical Protection, Safety and Regulation, 3) Experiences Tailored to Individual Differences, 4) Developmentally Appropriate Experiences, 5) Limit Setting, Structure and Expectations, and 6) Stable, Supportive Communities and Cultural Continuity.

Wishing you many happy moments with your little ones!