Here is a quick look at some headlines from this week impacting the lives of kids 0-5 and their families. The purpose of these stories is simply to inform, and they do not necessarily reflect First 5 Kern's areas of support or efforts towards these issues.
Follow First 5 Kern on social media (@First5Kern) for more kids news, as well as information about our funded programs and initiatives.
Now for the headlines........
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NATURAL ALLERGY AND ASTHMA PREVENTION FROM BIRTH
Vaginal delivery and breastfeeding lessen the number of new allergy and asthma cases in children
up to the age of 18 years,
according to new research
. David Hill, MD, PhD, of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and his colleagues compared the records of 158,422 children to see how the method of birth and feeding practice influenced the number of allergic conditions reported by each young person over a period of 18 years and found, in some instances, significant differences.
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WHAT SCIENCE TELLS US ABOUT EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
The use of science to inform learning and development can have profound results
for children, particularly those in their first few years of life. So say the experts—
among them Randa Grob-Zakhary
, a resident of Switzerland who holds doctoral degrees in neuroscience and medicine from Johns Hopkins University. Trained as a physician and neurosurgeon, Grob-Zakhary came to the education industry when she was pregnant with her first child, a time during which she “became acutely aware of the massive gap between what we know about children’s learning and development, and what we’re actually using,” she says.
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SANTA CLARA COUNTY MAKING A COMMITMENT TO THEIR KIDS
Santa Clara County legislators on Monday announced the county's proposed Children's Budget, which details
future investment of millions of dollars in local children and families. The budget
proposes spending $170 million
in county funds on children, youth and family programs this fiscal year and about $859 million total when accounting for funding from state, federal and other sources.
According to the county, about 450,000 of the county's 2 million residents are under the age of 18. "Santa Clara County needs to prioritize children because doing so is the single most vital investment we can make in the future of our community," said County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg.
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FIRST 5 FRESNO PROGRAM TO HELP PRETERM BIRTHS
Over the last few years the Fresno community has given birth to innovative solution-driven
projects to
combat one stark fact:
Fresno County ranks No. 1 on the list of California counties, with the
highest preterm rate
of two-thirds of all births. More startling, African American babies continue to die in their first year of life at three times the rate of all other babies. Landing on what to do about our reality, writes First 5 Fresno Executive Director Emilia Reyes, is no easy task.
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DO BABIES CRY IN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES?
Do babies cry in different languages?
Dr. Kathleen Wermke, a biologist and medical anthropologist from the Würzburg University Clinic’s Center for Pre-Speech Development and Developmental Disorders has a team of grad students and about a half million recordings of babies of various nationalities crying. And
they have the answer
to this question.
RELATED: The suggestion that babies cry in different languages is not new.
Dr. Wermke's research for example dates back to 2009, and
this TED Talk featuring author Anne Murphy Paul
from 2011 talks about what babies learn before they are even born, and also references the crying study.
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CALIFORNIA BUDGET & POLICY CENTER REPORT ON PAID FAMILY LEAVE
Research shows that paid family leave has been beneficial both for the workers who have accessed the program
and for their employers. However, even though the vast majority of workers in California contribute to the program, paid family leave
often does not meet the needs of workers
due to an absence of job protections and inadequate payments. Lack of job protections means that workers are not guaranteed their jobs when they return to work. Inadequate payments mean that workers — particularly those with low incomes — often cannot pay their bills if they choose to take paid leave.
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ADDITIONAL STORIES FROM THIS WEEK...
Cal Poly Pomona has offered childcare to students who are also parents since the 1970s.
Starting this spring,
that care will also be available at night
starting in January, thanks to a U.S. Department of Education grant. Parents had asked the center to provide evening care for years so they could attend night classes, but a lack of funding previously prevented the center from doing so.
In an effort to promote strong literacy skills, the Sonoma County Library is encouraging parents
and caregivers to
read 1,000 books to their kids
before they start kindergarten. The 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program is a nationwide initiative and officially launched in all Sonoma County Library branches on Oct. 28. Children will receive recognition for each 100 books they read and various prizes throughout their reading journey.
About half of the children
in the
United States
– nearly 35 million – will experience a traumatic event during their l
ives
, whether it's an acute traumatic event – such as exposure to a school shooting, natural disaster or the death of a loved one – or chronic trauma, including domestic violence or sexual abuse. Research at the Texas Children's Hospital's Trauma and Grief Center
has also shown that these early childhood
traumas may result in violent behavior later on in life, with
some of society's biggest problems, such as domestic violence, community violence, school shootings and sex trafficking, rooted in unresolved childhood trauma
When Sheila Janakos had her first child, she wanted to breastfeed her daughter but had some difficulties
. Her doctor was not much help, her own mother had not nursed, and her search for professional guidance came up short. More than two decades later, Janakos is
CEO of Healthy Horizons Corporate Lactation Services
, a California company with $1.1 million 2018 revenue that specializes in lactation services and setting up mothers’ nursing rooms at companies across the United States and Canada.
Officials in Tennessee have pointed to access to child care - or lack thereof - as a contributing factor in economic growth in their state.
Officials explain that because
the lack of child care can serve as a barrier
to entering (or re-entering) the work force, companies take that into consideration when making plans for setting up shop in particular communities. Now Tennessee officials are investigating whether there are are funds that could be added to incentive packages that would help companies create their own child care options.
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First 5 Kern was established in 1998 when California voters passed Proposition 10, which levied a 50-cent tax on tobacco products. Revenues generated from the tobacco tax are used to fund local programs in the areas of health and wellness, early childcare and education, and parent education and support services that promote early childhood development for children ages zero to five.
For more information on First 5 Kern and the agencies we support, please visit
www.First5Kern.org
and follow us on social media.
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Special thanks to
Vecteezy
for assistance on graphics
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