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Volume 26 - November 2019
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Greetings and Happy Fall!
Its time to gear up for a new year! the
88th Iowa legislative session is to begin January 14, 2019 and conclude 110 days later on May 3, 2019. The 4 R Kids Early Childhood Iowa area board has
established legislative priorities that include:
- investing in child care so businesses can thrive
- restoring funding to Early Childhood Iowa to the 2008 funding levels
- invest in early childhood services for long term results
Policy makers will have difficult decisions to make this year and you can be a part of the solutions. You are encouraged to keep up to date during the legislative session as well as educate your local legislators on the importance of investing in our youngest Iowan's. You can stay in the know by check the
legislative website for bills and auto streaming.
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4 R Kids Executive Director
The 4 R Kids ECI Area Board has a Facebook Page!
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Foster Homes Needed
Did you know that there are over 4,000 children in the State of Iowa in the foster care system but only around 2,200 foster families? Many of these children wait in shelters or other short term living arrangements but deserve the stability of a caring family.
Children Need You!! Do you have some extra room in your home or heart? Consider becoming a foster parent for Iowa children, sibling groups and teens who need safe foster homes. These youth enter foster care through no fault of their own and need a caring, stable family for a short or long-term basis or for the purpose of adoption. Foster parents can be single, a couple or married and come from all walks of life. If this is not for you but you know someone that would be a great foster/adoptive family please pass on this information to them. Vist
Four Oaks to learn more.
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No Small Matter
Over the last twenty years, a revolution in our understanding of early childhood has led to one, inescapable conclusion:
the experiences we have in the first five years of life shape our brains and bodies in profound and lasting ways; it's no longer about "nature versus nurture," but how the two work together to shape who we become. On Tuesday, January 8th, 2019 from 6-8 pm at Drake University's Sussman Theater in the Olmsted Building, a free film called No Small Matter will be offered. The film will break down complicated scientific details into layman's terms about how a child's mind develops and the critical nature of the first five years which has an enormous impact on the opportunity to thrive for the rest of his/her life - from academic achievement to health to future earnings as an adult. The event is free but registration is required, go
here to register.
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Families First Act
Changes are coming to the Iowa Department of Human Services through the Families First Act. The purpose of the Families First Act is to enable States to use federal funds to provide enhanced support to children and families and prevent foster care placements through the provision of mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment services, in-home parent skill-based programs, and kinship navigator services. An informational meeting regarding the Families First Act will be January 16, 2019 at 1:00 at the Wells Fargo Bank, 2nd floor, 515 N. Jefferson Way in Indianola. This meeting is open to the public. For more information on the Families First Act go
here.
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Uplift in Rural Iowa
Uplift of Rural Iowa is aimed at providing families with a safe environment to collaborate, share resources and support each other. We've all heard the saying "it takes a village to raise a child," but too often in today's world "the village" doesn't exist - so they have created it. They have three core objectives:
1. To facilitate prenatal and postpartum education for women
2. To provide resources and support for parents of young children
3. To engage families and the community in the positive development of our children.
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Early Childhood Iowa
Stay up to date with Early Childhood Iowa. The Early Childhood Iowa website has a plethora of information.
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Maternal Stress
Maternal stress can affect fetal development, including an increased chance of cleft palate, depression, attention deficits, and distractibility.
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Did you know that a baby's hair begins to grow at week 25 of pregnancy!
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Babys Smell
At around the 28th week of pregnancy, babies can begin to smell the same smells as their mother. In fact, the amniotic fluid enhances a baby's smell.
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Can babies taste salt?
Babies are born with the ability to taste sweet, bitter, and sour; however, they can't taste salt until they're 4 months old, when sodium-sensitive receptor proteins begin to emerge in the taste buds.
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Testosterone!
Male babies are born with as much testosterone as a 25-year-old man. After birth, testosterone levels plummet until puberty.
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February 21, 2019
March 21, 2019
April 18, 2019
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TV & Online
In the U.S., the average baby starts watching TV at 5 months old. Before seventh grade, 82% of children are online.
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Whoa!
If babies' bodies grew at the same rate as their brains, they would weigh 170 pounds by 1 month old!
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