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A Bay Area elementary school with glowing orange skies -- the result of smoke from the Northern California wildfires. Classrooms are empty as students are distance learning. ©Leslie McMahon
September 2020
Dear Friends,
I hope you are all healthy and safe. As I write this update, I am grateful for clearer air after being confined to my home due to poor air quality that made even sitting in our yard or a neighborhood walk impossible. Hopefully clean air will continue throughout the Bay Area and the rest of the west coast.
 
The events of 2020 must be a call to action for all of us. The COVID-19 pandemic and our response and recovery; the exposed inequities in education, internet access, and healthcare; the continuing fight for racial justice; and the growing impacts of climate change—all affect the well-being of our kids and their ability to thrive.
 
Two weeks ago, UNICEF released their Report Card 16 Worlds of Influence: Understanding What Shapes Well-being in Children in Rich Countries. Based on comparable national data gathered before the global pandemic, the report includes a ranking of the world’s richest countries based on children’s mental and physical health as well as academic and social skill sets. The bad news in this report is that the US ranked 36th out of 38 countries overall. The good news is that we have the resources and knowledge to fix this—if we can create a culture that makes it a priority. It is a telling point that neither of our presidential candidates has a comprehensive plan for children. A country that prioritized kids would demand this of our leaders. 
 
My latest blog post talks about the opportunity we now have to do better by our kids by establishing a formal structure at the federal level—a White House Office for Children. This is the first step to ensuring that kids are centered in our discussions and subsequent policy and programming decisions. You can read the post here.
 
Together with The FrameWorks Institute, we met virtually with a group of communications experts and child advocates to discuss how we might better communicate messages to elevate the well-being of children as a public priority. I share more about this marathon zoom meeting below and remain humbled and honored to walk with these smart and insightful leaders in this work.
 
Thanks, as always, for your continuing partnership and support. I always welcome the opportunity to connect by email at David.Alexander@leadingforkids.org or on Twitter @LeadingforKids.

Be well,
David
David Alexander, M.D.
President, Leading for Kids
(650) 714-6609
what we've been up to
We continue to move forward with our research project, Building a New Narrative About Our Kids, with The FrameWorks Institute. As mentioned above, last week we convened approximately 20 advocates and communications experts for a set of meetings over zoom to examine the current state of young people in the U.S. and to discuss possible indicators of a successful narrative shift in how we think and talk about young people. We also began to strategize upon the messages around this narrative, and how we might effectively share and adopt these messages. Having the ability to think about impact and implementation of possible findings at the onset of a research project is a gift, and we are grateful to our funders—the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Children’s Hospital Association—for their generous support and insightful participation.
in case you missed it
In the News:

  • America’s Promise Alliance and The 74 hosted a Virtual Youth Town Hall on the Return to School on August 26, featuring a panel of young people sharing their experiences, opinions, and ideas on topics including race and racism; the importance of mental health services; and their desire to be included in tough conversations.


Recent Blog Posts:



Articles of Note:



resources from the field
parting thoughts
Yesterday was National Voter Registration Day—the November election now is less than 42 days away! I have high hopes that children and young people will be highlighted in the upcoming presidential and vice-presidential debates. It’s time to talk about kids, vote for leaders who put kids first, develop a National Plan for Children, and hold policymakers accountable for its successful execution!
thank you! let’s stay connected!
Leading for Kids is committed to improving the health and well-being of children by creating a movement to change how we talk about kids, how we can invest wisely and productively in their futures, and how our decision makers can better protect their rights and reflect their voices.