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From the battlefields of the American Revolution to the deserts to the waters of the Persian Gulf, women have been serving in the military in one way or another for more than 200 years. But, did you know that even though women had served in the United States military in both World Wars and even the Civil War as nurses, spies and soldiers dressed as men, legislation formally allowing women in the military wasn’t passed until 1948? And did you know that women were finally allowed to military service academies in the 1970s and were only allowed to fly on combat missions in the 1990s? 

Women have had to overcome tons of obstacles over many decades to get where they are today– serving in greater numbers in combat roles and in leadership positions across the world. To celebrate their service, Armed Forces Day is Saturday, May 20. Unlike Veteran’s Day, which honors those who served our nation at war; and unlike Memorial Day, which honors those who died wearing the cloth of our nation at war, Armed Forces Day is the proper day to honor all of the men and women currently serving, as well as those who have served and sacrificed to defend our freedom.

While today’s military has become much more integrated along gender lines, just 16 percent of the total force is women. It’s the highest it’s ever been, but not high enough. Women in the military also suffer high rates of sexual assault from their male colleagues, in addition to mental disorders. A study of service members in 2007-2016 published in the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Branch's Medical Surveillance Monthly Report in March 2018 found that rates of mental health diagnoses were higher among females than males for adjustment disorders, anxiety disorders, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and depressive disorders.

To address the issues of inequity and underrepresentation of women in the military, writers Lori Robinson and Michael E. O’Hanlon of the article “Women Warriors: The ongoing story of integrating and diversifying the American armed forces,” said American armed forces should recruit from a broader pool– more than 60 percent of the Army recruits come from military families. It’s important to look at the barriers that keep women from pursuing actual military service, such as having a family. Robinson and O’Hanlon go on to say that military career paths that offer opportunities for parents to return to the service after an extended absence should continue to be developed. 

Sexual assault has largely been ignored over the years, with the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN) raising the alarm.  In 2016, the military had 6,172 reported sexual assaults, but the estimated rate in the military is more than twice that number, 58 percent of service members who reported an assault said they faced retaliation. In 2017, the group stood beside Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand as she reintroduced the Military Justice Improvement Act (introduced in 2013), which would take the decision to prosecute felonies, including sexual assaults, away from commanders who are at times the very perpetrators of the assaults, put instead in the hands of military prosecutors. As of 2023, the Defense Department has until the end of the year to create an independent special victim’s prosecution office, which is empowered to make decisions on filing charges and sending cases to trial without a commander’s sign-off.

So, how can you support our women in uniform? Celebrate Armed Forces Day on May 20, support the women in your life who serve, vote for people who support women, donate to Planned Parenthood locations near military bases, or donate to causes that support service women.

Thank you to all the service women who currently serve or who have served. We see you. We hear you!

Image: Captain Belinda Heerwagen of the US Navy, following her mission in Afghanistan working on the detection of IEDs. Kabul, Afghanistan - June 2016.

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Our planet is amazing, isn’t it? Earth rockets around the sun at a speed of 67,000 mph. It is the only planet in our solar system known to support life, due to oxygen, water, and too many other cool things to count! Any way you slice it, Earth is just awesome. To honor our home, people from all over come together to celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd of each year.

It all started back in 1970 when Senator Gaylord Nelson wanted to bring awareness to environmental protections. Thus, Earth Day was born. More than 20 million Americans demonstrated across the United States that spring, and after which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created to help tackle environmental issues.

As Jack Lewis of the EPA Journal wrote back in 1990, “In the waning months of the 1960s, environmental problems were proliferating like a many-headed hydra, a monster no one could understand let alone tame or slay.” Air pollution from cars and factories, plus waterways inundated with oil and toxic chemicals were just a couple environmental issues plaguing the country at the time, but the awareness took a backseat due to the major push for civil rights and the anti-war movement. Luckily, millions came together to demonstrate through rallies, teach-ins, speeches and publicity gambits for the inaugural Earth Day in 1970, and it stuck! According to History.com, “the first Earth Day was effective at raising awareness about environmental issues and transforming public attitudes.” 

It has transformed over the years– in 1990, Earth Day went global with more than 200 million in 140 nations celebrating. In 2000, Earth Day extended even more people across 184 nations and 5,000 environmental groups involved, and today, more than 1 billion people celebrate, making it the largest secular civic event in the world.

Celebrating our planet is now more important than ever. Due to the impacts of global warming, we are experiencing extreme weather, rising sea levels, extinction, and so many other things. Earth Day makes our collective communities reflect on this beautiful place we call home and how we can work together to try to save it. 

So, how can you celebrate this momentous annual event? Here are a few great options:

- Volunteer with EarthDay.org

- Make an Earth Day window sign

- Attend a celebration near you!

- Make your voice heard with legislation support

See other ways to be part of the celebration and take care of our planet Earth! 

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It is no secret that 2023 is a strange time to be alive. We’re still dealing with the repercussions of a global pandemic, the politics of which continue to divide the world. Wars continue to ravage the world, displacing and destroying individuals and their communities. We’re watching clips of billionaires in space while at the same time dealing with rising inflation and rumors of recessions. The news is constantly a source of anxiety for many; bad news, rather, as these days the good news seems to be rather sparse.

I was speaking with a friend of mine on this matter recently. We were lamenting about the state of the world, and she mentioned a conversation she’d had with her therapist on the matter.

“We’re not meant to be consuming this much negativity on such a constant basis. It is absolutely normal and expected for us all to be combating mental health difficulties because of it,” her therapist had shared with her.

My friend’s therapist was very wise in the way she consoled her client. It is harmful to talk about mental health issues as being something that is solely unique and individual, rather than an issue that affects a good portion of the collective. By actively working to normalize the conversation around anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues, we are also normalizing the resources that can be utilized to combat them.

Over the last three years, we have seen the conversation around mental health issues and resources expand in new ways. In early 2020, the onset of the coronavirus pandemic has prompted mass mandates for quarantining and social distancing to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus, thus protecting the physical health of the population. Of course this makes sense, as the coronavirus attacks the physical body of those it infects. However, the early mandates highlighted our society’s typical nature to prioritize maintaining one’s physical health over one’s mental health. We tend to treat physical and mental health as entirely separate entities, rather than two parts of a whole that need to remain in balance. If we are going to be discussing a plethora of ways to maintain our physical health, during this pandemic and beyond, we need to be actively discussing and equally prioritizing our mental health as well. Fortunately, as the pandemic progressed, so did the conversation around mental health, as well as the resources available to maintain it.

Therapy has always been a key resource in the maintenance of mental health; over the past several decades, it has gained acceptance as a topic of open conversation, as well. With the current state of the world, anxiety and depression have become much more prevalent amongst young and middle-aged people; issues that severely increased during the pandemic, and many people were left alone to combat them. One attempt to mitigate this was by the promotion of a host of accessible, affordable therapy sites, where people meet with a therapist via videoconferencing. Like an in-person office, people would be matched with a therapist skilled to suit their unique issues and needs. BetterHelp, Larkr, and Talkspace are three widely used sites. We also saw a lot more articles and stories in the news about mental health issues and how to mitigate them, with resources being promoted so that people could get the help they need. Additionally, the quarantine led to wider discussion about the necessity to check in with loved ones. A lot of these are positive shifts in normalizing the discussion around mental health.

As we continue moving through the fallout from the pandemic and back towards a more “normal” society, the discussion around prioritizing mental health needs to remain active. There should be accessible, viable resources for everyone struggling, no matter the scale.

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March is National Reading Month; picking up a novel, scouring a cookbook for a dinner recipe, or reading a street sign while driving is just part of everyday life for so many adults in the United States. Yet for some, that skill doesn’t come easy. According to the latest report by ProLiteracy.org, more than 43 million American adults cannot read, write, or do basic math above a third grade level. Further, only one in three American fourth graders are proficient in reading, according to Save the Children.

This is the case due to a variety of causes. According to Literacy Pittsburgh, factors such as undiagnosed learning disabilities, hearing or vision loss, lack of a role model who stresses reading, poverty, instability at home, and leaving school early to work or take care of a relative can all contribute. Together, these factors can create insurmountable barriers to literacy.

The consequences of low literacy and illiteracy are countless. Some examples include unemployment, low-quality jobs or minimal chances for advancement, as well as limited ability to absorb essential information, reduced access to lifelong learning, low self esteem, and more. Reduced literacy also impacts the economy when jobs are vacant because of the lack of trained workforce. Further, a difficulty understanding of societal issues lowers levels of community involvement and civic participation.

While there are plenty of barriers, there are also many literacy efforts out there to help combat low literacy and illiteracy:

● ProLiteracy: The largest adult literacy and basic education membership organization in the United States supports more than 1,000 member programs in the country and 35 countries worldwide. In addition to providing literacy instruction, it also advocates for increased awareness, funding and support of educational resources for adults. Help more adults learn to read by donating!

● Save the Children: For young struggling readers, Save the Children provides literacy programs that help accelerate reading growth. They believe that every child deserves a future, which is why helping children thrive in reading and writing is crucial. Help a child by donating or joining a program to teach others.

● Book Programs

○ Children’s Book Project: This awesome project offers free books to children from under-resourced neighborhoods. Find out ways to give books!

○ Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Dedicated to inspiring a love of reading from an early age, the global organization has programs in the United States, Canada, Australia, United Kingdom and Ireland that gift books to children up to age five. Started in 1995 in Parton’s home county in Tennessee, it now sends more than 2 million books a month to children all over the world. It’s so amazing that I am trying to get this program started locally in my hometown in Virginia! As an avid reader from an early age, it was always important to me to share this love of books with my two young children; something that this wonderful program would allow me to continue on a larger scale. See how you can help donate, sign your child up, or get a program started in your hometown.

Here’s to happy reading!

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You have a break and instead of turning on the TV or grabbing a book, you pick up your phone to do what millions of people do every day: scroll Instagram and Facebook feeds, scan the latest Tweets, and swipe up on the next TikTok. Social media is a place that has revolutionized the way everyone connects. While engaging with others, reading about the latest news, and learning new skills are just a few of the amazing aspects of these platforms, there are some negative aspects to them as well.

Enter online harassment and cyberbullying. It refers to name-calling, belittling and derisive comments targeting certain people online, affecting roughly four-in-ten Americans yearly, according to the Pew Research Center’s State of Online Harassment Report from 2021. A majority– nine-in-ten– see harassment and bullying as a major problem plaguing the digital world.

The main targets of online bullying are young adults aged 18-26, particularly those who identify as women, people of color, LGBTQ+, and as members of ethnic or religious minorities. This abuse challenges people’s livelihoods, undermines equity and inclusion, and clouds free speech. It also can lead to offline violence, even putting lives at risk. That’s because threats and disparaging comments often go unnoticed or are not taken seriously.

However, cyberbullying is not a lost cause. There are things to do to protect your kiddos and protect yourself. Most social media platforms offer special tools that allow restrictions on who can comment or view posts, and provide forms to easily report cases of bullying. These social media companies also offer educational tools and guidance for parents, children, and teachers to learn about risks and ways to stay safe online.

Something else to consider is how you play a role in it. The first line of defense against cyberbullying could be you. Think about where it might happen in your community and ways you can help– by raising your voice, calling out these bullies, reaching out to other adults, or creating awareness around this issue. It’s important to never engage with malicious content, but if you see something, say something. Don’t be afraid to reach out to someone hurting online (via private message, email or text).

Another thing you can do is limit your sharing online. Not everything you do needs to be documented on your networks all the time, which includes talking about a fight with your spouse or sexting online. Remember that everything said online could ultimately become public at some point.

Lastly, know when to take a digital break. Many people have decided to part ways with social media for a moment to decompress and try to connect with others close to them. It usually makes a difference and can help one have more empathy for those online. Find more resources and training at PEN America.

If you are worried about your safety or something has happened to you or your child online, reach out to another trusted adult or call a special free helpline to talk to someone anonymously here.

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Elwira Miezal knows how the simple act of listening to one’s intuition can have long-term, life-altering effects. Having begun working as a high fashion stylist twenty years ago, her career has evolved to enter the realms of product, wardrobe, and set design in Hollywood. Leaning into an internal calling to try something different, she began exploring the world of sculpture arts six years ago. Now a successful artist crafting organic, fluid pieces inspired by nature, she strives to create ceramics that not only spark joy, but calls others to explore what lies within their beings as well.

How did you initially begin working with ceramics?

My working with ceramics was actually very unexpected. I always had a big appreciation for ceramic work, and would purchase them whenever I traveled, but I never thought that I would create myself. Then one morning, I woke up when it was very early, still dark outside. As I was laying in my bed, I just heard this voice, out of the blue, say, “sign up for a ceramics class.” I went straight to my computer and found a studio close to my home in Pasadena. I called as soon as they opened; the lady said that they only had one spot left, and asked if I would like to take it. That is how my journey began, and I am still a member of that same studio; it is where I practice and build my work. Looking at it with the perspective I have now, it is clear that ceramics were a soul calling for me; the rest just unfolded from my hands.

In addition to working as a ceramist, you also work as a Hollywood set designer. How has your experience in that world influenced your art?

I have a huge appreciation for film and photography; both of these mediums resonate very deeply with me. I truly enjoy beautiful photography, framework, and films. Once I began making my ceramics, I viewed each work as being an invitation for me to make visual art about the specific pieces. When you look at my account on social media, I quite often photograph my pieces outdoors, as they are often inspired by nature. Sometimes I photograph myself, or sometimes just my ceramics. I view my experience in the film and photography industry as having merged with my ceramics as I have grown as an artist.

How do you approach design when it comes to your ceramics, both aesthetically and elementally?

Most of the time when I begin creating, I never know what I will be making. When I first come to my studio, I take a piece of clay and I just sit with it for a little bit. I always say to this body of soil, “tell me where you want to be”. Sometimes I craft pieces that are very large, sometimes very small; however, I never have an intention when I come to the studio. Each piece is born from intuition in the moment. I often find inspiration from architecture, but most of the time I get my vision from nature, made by mixing clays of different colors and textures.

Many of your pieces are made to be an appreciation for the human body. What about the human form inspires you?

I started working with ceramics during a very challenging time of my life. While these stressful events were happening, I began to look deeply within myself for the first time, asking what it truly means to be a human being, and exploring all that is beyond the body. My ceramics came out as a form inspired by the human shape, but if you truly look at my pieces, there is also the soul. As I was going through this process of discovery, I was building ceramics and exploring my soul through building body shape forms.

What is your philosophy when it comes to your art?

I create so people can enjoy my pieces; I have no attachment to whatever I make, as I do so for others. I love to see when my art goes out to the world and brings joy to someone’s life. My philosophy is to truly be free and explore the possibilities that each day brings; this is something that we must explore ourselves, deep inside. I recognize that in order to create something that comes from within, we need to be extremely present. When I look at my sculptures or my vases, I can tell which pieces truly came from being present in the moment, when I was aware of every single move as I was crafting them. The process of creating is simply beautiful in itself. It is never knowing unfoldment; this is what excites me, that I never know what's going to be next. Creation is an invitation for living a full life.

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For California residents, extreme weather seems to be a way of life nowadays. Just a few short months ago, the West Coast state was consumed with a major drought that restricted the water supply, affected wildlife and plants, and ignited wildfires across the state. Yet over the last month, California has not only been buried with snow in the north, but also pounded by torrential record-breaking rains and wind in the coastal areas, causing historic flooding.

It could be attributed to what is called an atmospheric river storm, a trail of river-like condensed water vapor that travels within the atmosphere, in tandem with the weather, according to the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Downtown San Francisco received 18 inches of rain from Dec. 26 through Jan. 16, the most in a 22-day span since 1862, while Oakland and Stockton saw more rainfall from Dec. 26 to Jan. 10 than in any other 16-day period on record. In fact, in one weekend in January, a storm hit southern California and the Bay Area with more than six inches of rain!

As you may have guessed, this abundance of rain has caused lots of flooding, fallen trees, sinkholes and landslides. Many have even had to evacuate their homes, and thousands of homes and businesses were without power for days. At least 19 people have died since the start, according to The Associated Press.

According to the Forbes article, “What is an Atmospheric River? Here’s Why California is Getting Hammered with Them,” scientists think that atmospheric rivers over the Pacific Ocean have been stuck in a storm track without a La Nina climate pattern to disrupt the current path, bringing each of them to the western coast of California. Atmospheric rivers can carry major amounts of water vapor equivalent to the average amount of water flowing at the mouth of the Mississippi River and dump them in large volumes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Fortunately, there is a possible bright spot to these gnarly storms– this precipitation will likely boost hydroelectric production, which will help the electric grid, particularly in the summertime when it comes under strain. They expect to have more hydroelectricity generated this year than they have for the last several years.

Over the holidays, we visited my husband’s family in Los Angeles, which seemed to be drenched most of the 11 days we were there, something that never happens. Southern California is known for its bright, sunny days, so not being able to visit the beach or do many things outside most of the trip was a bummer. We also made a quick trip up to the Sierra Nevadas for snowboarding at Mammoth Lakes and needless to say, we were stuck in the hotel for the two-night stay. We were hit with a major blizzard on New Year’s Eve and did not have the gear to trek our two kiddos in the crazy foot of snow. We found out the most recent estimate of snowfall there this season is close to 32 feet! We have friends who live in some of the areas affected by the flooding, such as San Francisco, so I worried for their safety much of the time we were out there.

So, how can you help individuals and communities impacted by these California storms? Here are some ways:

● GoFundMe has set up a page where people can donate to those in need through verified fundraisers.

● Donate locally to the Santa Cruz County Disaster Fund, an area with extreme flooding.

● Help the California Community Foundation, which provides emergency support for LA’s unhoused population.

Learn more about how to get help or help those in need after devastating storms.

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The other day, I was roaming around the internet and stumbled across an old tweet from Kashia Dunner, a career coach and former diplomat. On December 31, 2019, Dunner posted the following tweet:

“I feel like my generation lost hobbies.

Everything doesn’t have to be a hustle, side hustle, or money making enterprise. Sometimes it’s just fun to do something because it brings you joy, peace, relaxation, or allows you to be creative.”

Dunner’s tweet struck as a poignant, yet very true statement about our society. Her thoughts seem to describe people within the later Gen X and Millennial generations in particular; those who are navigating adulthood today.

As children, we were often encouraged to find new hobbies to occupy ourselves. In the days before smartphones and wireless internet, our parents wanted us to find other ways to spend our time. The genres ranged greatly; there were kids who played club sports, such as kickball, gymnastics, or karate. Others were interested in crafts such as origami, crochet, beading, scrapbooking, flower pressing, and magic. Some had different collections that they spent time learning to grow, such as coin, stamp, or seashell collections. During this time, I also remember my mother, a Baby Boomer, as always engaging in hobbies of her own. She was constantly playing solitaire, knitting, quilting, or reading. To this day she still does these things, and is often lamenting to my father that he needs to “find a new hobby.”

So what happened to our generation of adults? Why don’t people talk about the things that they enjoy doing for simple pleasures?

Younger Gen-Xers and Millennials grew into adulthood under different circumstances than our parents and grandparents before us. On the one hand, we have more people in the workforce than before; due to the social progression, more women are working and establishing careers for themselves. With more people chasing careers, less time is left to dedicate towards our simple hobbies.

However, we also are going through adulthood during a time of heightened financial distress; we barely came out of the 2008 market crash only to enter into a global pandemic, straining the economy once again. These global constraints on the economy in part birthed the rise of “hustle culture”, aided by the invention and expansion of social media.

That hat you knit me was great, you should sell those!

Do you like taking film photos? Those are cool, you could make money off of them!

You found a cool coin? That could be worth a lot of money, you should look it up on eBay!

We now live in a world where everything is commoditized, where everything can be turned into a hustle for a source of income. What has begun to happen is that because everything can be a hustle, we believe that everything has to be a hustle. Our generation has lost sight of even the possibility that we can do and enjoy things without trying to extract a profit from them.

The onset of the pandemic in 2020 and subsequent quarantine did spur the onset of hobbies for some. Via social media, we witnessed the world commit time to things such as puzzles, baking bread, and meditating. One study by LendingTree found that 6 in 10 Americans picked up a new hobby during quarantine, with 35 percent of those surveyed saying they did so to make money. 31% of those surveyed reported they picked up a hobby to better their mental health during that time.

Living in a capitalist society, making money will always be a main operative to do anything. However, Dunner’s tweet is important in opening the discussion surrounding the intention of how we spend our time, and for what purpose. Doing things to bring us joy, peace, and allow us to express our creativity are just as valuable as those that we do for financial gain. It is time for our society to honor and reflect that truth as well.

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Lose weight. Eat better. Hone a new skill or passion. Limit screen time. Maybe drink more water.

Every January, we set New Year’s resolutions to help us become better people in the new year. These promises to ourselves are made with the best of intentions. Yet unfortunately, many of these resolutions fall flat and don’t make it past winter. So, how do we set New Year’s goals and stick to them? The key is to commit yourself to your resolutions and learn from your mistakes. You can do it!

The practice of setting New Year’s resolutions didn’t just start a few years back– try thousands of years back. History.com writer Sarah Pruitt said that ancient Babylonians are the first ones to have made New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. During a 12-day religious festival, Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king, she said. They made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return anything they had borrowed. If the Babylonians kept to their word, their gods would favor them in the new year. If not, they would fall out of the gods’ favor, according to History.com.

Despite the tradition’s religious roots, resolutions are mostly a secular practice nowadays. Instead of making promises to gods, people typically make promises to themselves for self-improvement in the new year. Maybe that’s why most people fail to follow through on their resolutions. In fact, according to recent studies, almost half of the American population will make resolutions with only 8% actually successful in fulfilling their goals. Yet that low record will probably not stop people from making goals at the start of every year. After all, the tradition has been in practice for more than 4,000 years.

With 2023 here, there are some tips for both making your resolutions and keeping them from Harvard Medical School:

● Dream big! Want to run a marathon or triathlon? Lose 50 pounds? With a little perseverance and support from your friends and family, you can achieve your goals.

● Break these big dreams into small steps. Completing smaller steps propel you to finish your ultimate goal. Make a list with easy jobs first. Being able to check off your top line items will give you the motivation to keep going. There is something about finishing a to-do list that feels so good.

● Commit yourself. Hold yourself accountable through written or verbal affirmations. This will help you through the tough spots with your journey. Create a Facebook page devoted to your goals and detail your steps. Or make it a less public promise to your partner, friend, coworker or friend. Whatever you do, make yourself accountable.

● Learn from the past. Any time you fail to make a change or don’t complete a task, consider it a step in the right direction. When you hit a bump in the road, consider what worked and what didn’t. Maybe you took on too big a challenge? Maybe take a step and make a less ambitious goal or break the goal into even tinier steps.

● Give yourself thanks. Forgetting perfecting every step. Set your sights on finishing that marathon, not reaching for a personal best the first time around. Even if you complete it, you’re still a winner even if you end up walking some. Be proud of yourself for what you have accomplished! Maybe you wouldn’t have done this last year, but you took the necessary strides to get the goal completed this time around.

Making a change and setting big goals can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Get the Special Health Report, Simple Changes, Big Rewards: A practical, easy guide for healthy, happy living to learn how to incorporate simple changes into your life that can reap big rewards. Happy New Year! 

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Got kids? If so, chances are you know the difficulty of finding, keeping, and maintaining optimal child care – at a reasonable price. With inflation skyrocketing at every turn, household budgets are being squeezed, forcing parents to think outside the box when it comes to their child care. And that’s if families can even find day care.

According to Data-for-Equity Research Brief, a report on child care affordability for working parents, child care is unaffordable for the majority of working parents, particularly for low-income, Black and Hispanic families. In 2018, parents working full-time and year-round typically spent more than 10 percent of their annual income on full-time child care, while low-income families spent more than a quarter of their income.  Care.com’s 2022 Cost of Care survey found that over the course of four years, child care has gotten more expensive for 63% of families, with more than 51% of parents spending over 20% of their annual income. These numbers are higher than pre-pandemic numbers.

Because of these rising costs, parents have had to make significant changes to their lifestyles, such as taking on a second job (31%), reducing hours at work (26%), changing jobs (25%), and leaving the workforce altogether (21%). The last scenario became my life this year after having my second child. I have worked for more than 12 years in writing and communications, but when my husband took a position in Virginia, we decided that leaving my nonprofit marketing position and becoming a stay-at-home mom made sense for the time being. Putting two children – one infant and one toddler– in full-time child care at a facility would have cost our family most of my one-month paycheck, and nearly 20% of our annual income. I’m grateful for the opportunity to spend this quality time raising our children, but it has been a major adjustment to my life and in a way, I’ve kind of lost my identity. We are making it work but it’s definitely a work in progress.

While I opted to become a stay-at-home-mom, my family was fortunate to even find potential child care for our children. According to a Harvard Business Review Survey, nearly two-thirds of parents have had trouble finding child care throughout the pandemic and afterwards, especially Black and Hispanic families. A new Household Pulse Survey from the Census Bureau found that from Dec. 29, 2021 through Jan. 10, 2022 , over 1 in 4 families with children under the age of 5 reported that they could not send their kids to child care because of safety concerns, staffing shortages, it was unavailable, or unaffordable. Whatever way you slice it, child care options are limited across the board.

So where do we go from here? Help create child care policies that are inclusive and equitable by donating to the Child Care Law Center. This in turn will help spur federal fiscal intervention, which will assist in paying child workers more without raising rates for families. Depending on your income, your family might even qualify for child care subsidies to help offset costs. Let’s come together to help provide top-tier care for our future generations!

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