Kaleidoscope - Dr. Kimberly Gordon Biddle
Advocating for Children and their Families
Posted February 2nd 2015

As professionals in early childhood education, you are called on to advocate for children and their families. Wright and Jaffe (2014) have crafted six steps in the advocating process for all those who wish to stand up for children and their families. These steps are simply genius and easy to follow and comprehend. Step one is to know your issue by researching the statistics, theory, and research related to it. Your issue could be poverty, juvenile justice, child abuse, or another important topic. Step two is research for background and impact. This is where you dig deeper into the chosen issue. Step three is to prepare effective materials. This means to use logic (and other processes) and know your audience while you create your message and the tools of your message, whether the tools are a letter or public service announcement or some other format. Step four is making meetings that work and describes setting up, conducting, and following up meetings and events with great impact. Step five is strategic follow-up of meetings and events. In this step, you keep the audience engaged and may employ strategic use of social media. Step six is to go deeper and reinforce you previous advocacy efforts through monitoring and evaluation.So, there are the six steps for advocating for children and their families as espoused by Wright and Jaffe.

Which issue related to children and families in need do you think you may want to advocate for strongly and how specifically would you advocate?

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Reply from Ceceilia posted on May 20th 2015
I am strongly opinionated when it comes to advocating for children. I think it is extremely important. I see it all the time in the classrooms that I have been able to volunteer in. In each class there are always a wide range of students. Some students need more care then others, but as a teacher you are their caregiver and supporter while they are at school. I know that I would make sure I am engaged with my students and their families. I would be willing to be flexible and go the distance to help them, and guide them all the way.
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Reply from ShaNice Patterson posted on May 19th 2015
I believe that teachers and parents must be advocating for the overall well being of the child or children's education. Its important that teachers and parents listen to the needs of the children to find out the best styles of learning for them. You want to keep them engaged and what them excited to learn more. Learning is a long life process that never ends. So you have to learn to enjoy it!
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Reply from Patricia Gonzalez posted on May 17th 2015
Technology has been a great debate topic in education regarding weather or not it should be implemented in the classrooms. In regard to that debate, I would like to argue that technology is beneficial for both students and families. However, I do understand that some families and students don't have access to technology but if technology was given to them it would greatly benefit them. For lower income families, I would advocate useful resources where thy can get access to technology like the library or centers near by. I would give them websites or YouTube videos on how to guide their child with technology usage so they can have more knowledge of the technological world. I also understand that some parents don't know how to work a computer or a iPad so workshops would be needed to efficiently get them involved. Parents can gain an efficient tool through technology which is researching. As a parent I understand the importance of researching. I research to see what teaching styles are the best for me to guide my daughter. The the interment and technology is a handy tool if used properly. And if parents and students knew how to effectively use the Internet it would advance their learning experience. Today students don't really know how to properly use the web. They use it to go on social websites like, Facebook, Instagram, twitter or YouTube. They don't really know how to use it for an educational experience. Although google search is a great tool to start an educational experience there are better and sites that have rich contet for teachers, parents and students. And that's what I hope workshops would get parents and students to get out of. Technology is everywhere and is the future. I think it's best if we get the educational community which involves teachers, parents, students, board members, and government to truly think about how technology should be implemented in classroom. And ways to promote an educational experience through technology.
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Reply from Yuga posted on May 12th 2015
I really think that health and nutrition of young children is one of the most important problems that parents face now days. The studies show that eating behavior in early life affects the children’s physical as well as mental health. Understanding of nutrition becomes a significant factor in developing food habits or eating patterns in adolescence and later years. If food habits are not rectified earlier on, it can eventually lead to obesity, overweightness, diabetes or severe heart ailments. Obese children and teenagers also remain at greater risk for developing serious chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and other health conditions including asthma, and psychosocial effects such as decreased self-esteem. Hence, it is imperative for us to take measures to address the food habits and nutritional practices right from early child care settings. Parents need to be aware of the problems can get bigger and serious if they are ignoring their child’s nutritional health. We can arrange and plan for ‘nutrition of young children’ advocacy campaign in preschools, kindergarten, and day care centers. Teachers and caretakers can talk about any nutritional concerns in their weekly or monthly parent meetings. Children can be taught the importance through activates, small projects, stories, and plays they participate in school. Flyers can be distributed in schools promoting the awareness of nutritional food value for children, adults and suggest few active steps to improve the food habits. I really liked the way Wright and Jaffe (2014) have crafted six steps for advocating process. It summarizes the steps in easy but impactful manner we can use for child advocacy to educate our target audience for all the necessary information and action.
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Reply from Elizabeth Cruz posted on May 7th 2015
There are many issues in regards to children, which need advocates to fight for them. Personally parental involvement is one of what I believe to be essential to a child’s development through out their life. When children have that firm foundation with their parent they are better prepared for school, they do better in school and overall are better prepared for life. The first step would be to educate parents and explain to them how they can make a difference in their child’s life. I would do this by providing workshops on weekend or at nights so most parents would be able to attend. If neither of these worked I would set up one on one meetings with the families who were un able to attend. Lastly I would involve the school as a whole, that way we would be able to educate all the parents at our school not merely those at the grade level I taught.
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Reply from Angelina Marasigan posted on May 6th 2015
An issue that I believe children and families need advocacy for is the issue of healthy activity, in all aspects. Parents need to be informed, if not already, and be involved in creating healthy lifestyles for their children. Many children drink soda, juices high in sugar, and even start drinking Starbucks coffee frappaccinos at a young age. Sugar is not only found in cupcakes and candy, but also in all these drinks and other "healthier" labels snacks such as the Quaker oats granola bars. To advocate for this issue I would first inform the families and children of all the myths about "sugar free", "zero calorie" foods and where sugars could be hiding. I would also provide demonstrations and example meal plans that would be healthy and good for your budget. I would also explain to the families the importance of physical activity. To spend as much time being active as they are in front of a screen. The most important thing I would advocate is the importance of encouragement. Encouraging each other positively in making healthier eating choices and engaging in physical activity all leads to a healthier mind set.
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Reply from Maritza G posted on May 3rd 2015
Children and families are in need of advocacy on parental involvement in Early Childhood Education. Parental involvement is important for children of all ages but I believe getting an early start would incorporate parents to want to continue their involvement throughout their schooling. The issue would be to be able to provide the right tools and strategies for parents to be involved in their child's education. For example, providing transportations, motivation, and offering programs for parents to attend. Many parents do not have the time but by providing those resources, more parents would be involved. The way I would advocate is to try to motivate parents by educating them on the importance of early development and how parents play a role in it. Most parents do not understand how important they can be in their child's development and future education. I would also advocate by providing parents the resources needed for them to be able to participate in their child's learning and development. Some parents cannot take time off but they do not know of workshops that are done on their days off or that home visits are important to teachers to connect with parents on their child's development. They can learn learn effective strategies by asking the right questions and attending meetings/workshops/classes. I would also work with the community and city in order to find the correct resources to give the parents that need them.
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Reply from Maritza G posted on May 3rd 2015
Children and families are in need of advocacy on parental involvement in Early Childhood Education. Parental involvement is important for children of all ages but I believe getting an early start would incorporate parents to want to continue their involvement throughout their schooling. The issue would be to be able to provide the right tools and strategies for parents to be involved in their child's education. For example, providing transportations, motivation, and offering programs for parents to attend. Many parents do not have the time but by providing those resources, more parents would be involved. The way I would advocate is to try to motivate parents by educating them on the importance of early development and how parents play a role in it. Most parents do not understand how important they can be in their child's development and future education. I would also advocate by providing parents the resources needed for them to be able to participate in their child's learning and development. Some parents cannot take time off but they do not know of workshops that are done on their days off or that home visits are important to teachers to connect with parents on their child's development. They can learn learn effective strategies by asking the right questions and attending meetings/workshops/classes. I would also work with the community and city in order to find the correct resources to give the parents that need them.
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Reply from Jonathan E posted on May 1st 2015
One issue related to children and families is educational achievement. Research has shown that children of low SES families are delayed academically, especially young children learning English as a second language. As a student in the child development masters program at Sacramento State, and also as an aspiring professional in the field, I advocate by being an extension of the school system. I make a lot of home visits as a supplemental educational service provider, most commonly in homes that are primarily Spanish speaking. Being both a product of the public school system I try to be a role model for the students I work with, to encourage them to succeed as well. At the same time, I am a resource to the parents who, at times, cannot effectively communicate with their schools because of language reasons, and in my case Spanish. I hope to advocate for bilingual education because I believe that our current system is not leading our children to success. I would advocate for more native language instruction for children who are learning English as a second language.
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Reply from Lindsey Pitts (Quail) posted on April 21st 2015
I would like to advocate for quality parenting and higher parent involvement in young children's lives. From a developmental perspective, it is so important for parents to be involved in their children's lives for cognitive and social development. Unfortunately, due to outside circumstances, whether it be low SES, abuse, or other unforeseen situations, some parents are unable to provide the proper care for their children, not because they don't love them, but because they just simply can't or don't know any better. More specifically, I would want to advocate for some type of required parenting class, or possible license (required test,) that parents would have to take before their baby is born. Similar to the development of a child, when someone "knows better, they do better." I think many people have babies, and yes it is their right to do so, but don't REALLY realize what it is they are getting themselves into. Similar to earning a drivers license, everyone has the right to get one, but it's important to at least learn the "basics" before getting on the road. Yes, parenting is a natural right, and NO, I don't think it should be taken away. But giving expecting parents information and resources that could potentially change the life of the baby would be beneficial for many parents and families. There are currently programs "offered" for parents AFTER a baby is born. But I think requiring something BEFORE the baby comes would be beneficial for the family as a whole.
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Reply from Carson Arnold posted on March 26th 2015
I believe advocating for the children is extremely important. As their teacher you are one of their many caregivers and you have to support them and be able to take a stand for them. I find it interesting the many different ways there are to advocate and support children.
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Reply from Holly Siino posted on March 24th 2015
I am very interested in advocating for young children and their families in the area of children with special needs. I want to be a educator that works with families in getting them the resources needed for their child to be as successful as possible and for the child to be making as much progress as they can. I want to be flexible in my classroom in making whatever changes needed for each child to be successful.
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Reply from jorge Monreal posted on March 10th 2015
I would like to advocate for children diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactive Disorder. I consider that is very important to do more research and to advocate for children who are dealing with this issue. It is hard for many teachers as well as parents to recognize whether their child is having a hyperactive disorder that is avoiding him to pay attention to class. Same thing happens with teachers, that why I think is very important to create a group which would provide information about this specific issue. It is very important to do research, take surveys about what people already know and to work together with doctors that would help to provide medical evidence and to educate people about how work with this children. our goal would be to be informed and to find a process that allow parents recognize this particular issue and to know what they can do about it.
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Reply from Marie Simon posted on March 8th 2015
It is a noble way to do advocacy fro children, especially the one who got abused. My interest in children development is not just supporting the cause to fight against children abuse, but also I want to learn about children development in order to write children story books by studying Child Development Research for graduate study, I will also learn the depth about Child Development.
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Reply from Chelsea Deavers posted on March 2nd 2015
An issue that has sparked my interest as of late is that of Transitional Kindergarten (TK). I have done some research on the topic and have found areas in the subject that I do not agree with. The main issue I have with TK is the requirements for teachers. TK teachers are required to have a credential and very few units of ECE. As a master's student for child development, I find it completely ridiculous that I am not eligible to teach TK classes. I have more than enough units in ECE or child development to meet the needs of five year olds, yet because I do not have a credential I am not a candidate for a TK teacher. Although I understand what TK is for, I think more research should be done for this topic and the teacher requirements should be reconsidered to allow preschool teachers and other ECE professionals the chance to teach TK classes.
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Reply from Seng posted on February 14th 2015
In the past, I have been interested in finding resources that can benefits children and family. Specifically, I am interested in helping children and family that comes from disadvantaged background; such as not being able to afford clothes, hygiene, and overall well-being. To do this; I would need to talk to my local children and family center and seek their support to help my issue. I also think it would be very ideal for me to create a volunteer group. With the help from the volunteer group, we can gather resources from the community and ask for donations to help support families that are in need of supplies; such as clothing, toothbrush, and etc.
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Reply from Shivani Patel posted on February 13th 2015
I am interested in promoting children's mental health. Mental health is important and should be more widely discussed. I want to advocate for programs that involve early diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. If these mental illnesses aren't detected early on than it can cause children to have problems at home, school and forming relationships. There are families who don't have access to the proper treatment families. Creating programs to educate families on the facts regarding mental health problems and on the resources available will be very effective. There may be programs like this already out there, but it is not publicized enough for families to know about them.
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Reply from Arianna Oneto posted on February 6th 2015
I am very interested in childhood obesity, specifically looking into parental influences on children. I would love to advocate for some kind of state/federally parental education program that would help educate parents on ways to engage his or her child in healthful eating habits and activities. This type of program would especially benefit areas where resources are limited, showing parents that leading a healthy life is possible. By educating parents about nutrition and fitness for not only his or her child but themselves, would allow for the successful modeling of behaviors and opportunity for mutual participation and shared experiences increasing the overall quality and value of each parent-child interaction.
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Reply from Kelli Panos posted on February 4th 2015
I am really interested in the Deaf community. I would definitely advocate strongly for them. Most of the literally do not have a voice, so to be able to communicate their feelings to a hearing person who doesn't know their language would be a great opportunity. Along with that, being able to spread information of their culture would be great. A lot of the times hearing parents will have a Deaf child and look down upon them or think their deafness is a disability. The parents or surrounding peers will say things like "you MAY graduate but it's going to be tough and its okay if you don't because you're disabled". That is no excuse. Most Deaf people do not see their deafness as a disability even though the state does. To be able to educate anyone about Deaf culture is something that I consider a privilege and something more people should know about.
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Reply from Marisela Rivera posted on February 4th 2015
One thing that has always been of interest for me in terms of advocacy is supporting bilingual education. Ways that I could advocate for this topic through my career as a preschool teacher is by encouraging my students to use their home language in the classroom. I would incorporate all of their cultures in the classroom décor so that they feel it is okay to embrace their culture. As a preschool teacher I would seek staff that exemplifies the diversity of the classroom. I would contact the area manager/supervisor to seek materials or a curriculum that further encourages bilingualism. There are many ways to advocate on this topic and different groups to target as well.
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Reply from Amanda Huynh posted on February 3rd 2015
Since I am conducting my thesis relating to the issue of cyber bullying, my interest for advocacy would naturally deviate towards this issue. Specifically, I would like to advocate and promote public knowledge on the effective coping strategies for youth victims of cyber bullying. To do so, I would like to get in touch with public representatives at the Department of Education and the Department of Social Services. These public representatives are civil workers who disseminate information in booths at public events such as the California State Fair, various meetings, and other local events. From the information gathered through my research, I would like to develop informational pamphlets that they could pass out or provide to the public in their booths. My specific area of interest is LGBT youth victims of cyber bullying. As such, I would also like to get in touch with local interest groups, such as the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, to disseminate information.
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