Families

Families 

Recently, I heard two statements that made me not only so disappointed but also so incredibly angry.

Something you should know about me is that I am exactly who I am in all aspects of my life. As an individual, as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend, as a teacher, and as a business owner, I pride myself on being an empathetic listener. I try my best to listen, without judgment, when someone shares their lived experience. 

I thought we could practice empathy together, even though I heard that “empathy is being used as a tool to ruin Western civilization.” 

I want you to imagine that you have a toddler. You and your parenting partner are looking for schools that align with your parenting philosophy. You find one that seems like a good fit, so you set up a time to tour the school. 

You, your parenting partner, and your child are touring the school with one of the school representatives. You feel like the tour is going well until the school representative pauses it. When they pause, they say, “We’ve had parents like you in our program before. We are fine with it as long as your child (who is a toddler) doesn’t flaunt who their parents are. We also will not tell the other parents that you are both the child’s parents.” 

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes- to imagine their lived experience, emotions, and how it affected them.

I want you to take a minute and really sit with this statement: “We’ve had parents like you in our program before; we are fine with it as long as your child (who is a toddler) doesn’t flaunt who their parents are, we also will not tell the other parents that you are both the child’s parents.” How does this statement make you feel? 

If you think this absolutely could not have taken place at an early childhood program and most certainly not an ECE program in Vermont, then you are wrong. It did, and it does in many programs around the United States. Just to be clear, this is illegal (even in this current upside-down world we live in) and immoral. Early childhood programs do not get to promote that they value and cherish children and their families with the caveat that they only mean the “right” families.

I recently received an email from an early childhood professional thanking me for my inclusive and safe writing style- they asked me never to change.

Please know that I will ALWAYS fight for ALL children, families, and early childhood professionals. I am in charge of my business. I make decisions (even when they are uncomfortable) that are in the best interest of ALL children, families, and ECE professionals. I do not avoid difficult conversations.

I am the very proud mother of an amazing daughter who happens to be part of the LGBTQ+ community- which means that I am not only fighting for all of you I am fighting for her future family. The political climate does not silence me. It only makes me speak louder! 

After reading this, some of you may be ready to unsubscribe from my emails, but I hope you don’t. I hope that you stick around. I hope you sit with my words and continue to practice your empathy skills, as those are what the children in your care really need. 

The children in our care (and their families) need us to provide safe, warm, and nurturing spaces that protect them from the storm raging outside our program doors—this is the mission we signed up for when we decided to become early childhood professionals.

For those of you who feel unsafe and unable to speak your truth, please know that you are valued and loved. I will continue to fight for your rights and those of our youngest (most vulnerable) community members.

ALL ARE WELCOME HERE!