Why should businesses and business owners help kids succeed? Joining us today on the Talent Magnet Institute Podcast is Amanda Greenwell, Director of the Northern Kentucky Area Center. On this episode we’re talking about early childhood education: why does it matter, and why should you care?
Amanda’s personal experience
When Amanda had children, she took five years off from the workforce to be with her kids, giving them the best experiences she could. Parents are the first teachers of our children and their most important influence in the very beginning. But many families aren’t able to have these interactions with their children for a multitude of reasons, and when that occurs, the child suffers long term.
So what Amanda does is look for opportunities with partners in the early childhood community to make sure that people not only have access to early childhood programs, but quality early childhood programs.
Childcare and the workforce
Two-thirds of our children under five are in some type of childcare. We have to accept that families need quality care, but quality care is really, really expensive: an average of $155 a week. That’s one-third of the income of someone making $12 an hour.
So if we’re looking at strengthening the workforce and making sure employees are coming to work focused — childcare is a way for that to happen.
Flexible solutions
Kindergarten is not a full day, and what we’re seeing in the community is that school districts are partnering with others to help supplement that full day, thinking outside the box to expand the school day. Children learn best in high-quality, full-day programs, and working parents need the stability of that all-day program so they can thrive in their jobs as well.
So how can businesses get involved? Amanda lists a number of different ways employers can be part of the solution, other than opening on-site childcare because when an employee comes to work, they come with their whole self. They don’t stop being a parent or grandparent.
Why business leaders should care
The first five years shape our brains and bodies in profound ways, so childcare really is a long-term investment in shaping the workforce of the future. For every $1 invested in early childhood, there is a sevenfold return, because that’s where children are receiving the greatest return to be set up for success.
MyPre-K
MyPre-K offers resources within your community to help you better understand the development of your child, what it means to be ready for kindergarten, and even what’s available in your local community. This is for any parent or caregiver who is loving or spending time with a child up to age 5, to help them navigate their options to make sure the child is successful.
No Small Matter
United Way is partnering with 4C for Children to host a screening of No Small Matter. This film is built from stories of real children, families, and teachers, and illustrates the impact of high-quality early childhood experiences and how you can make a difference. Change is necessary and critical, and we can do it if we all put our minds to it.
Resources
No Small Matter
The feature documentary NO SMALL MATTER confronts America’s most pressing problems with an unlikely but powerful weapon: babies and young children. From home to childcare to preschool, high-quality early care and education has far-reaching impacts, and groundbreaking science to back it up. With a healthy dose of humor and a surprising edge, NO SMALL MATTER reveals the tragic cost of getting this wrong, and the huge payoff for our kids, our families, and our country of getting it right.