Tell leaders to make child care a priority

As a group of 17 -year-old Save the Children Action Network student ambassadors in Illinois, we have the power to shape the future for our own children. The year 2020 focused on internal problems in D.C. and not the American people or the huge challenges our families are facing every day.

The deadlock in Washington hurts our children when they need us most. The environment and interactions children are exposed to during the first five years of life greatly influence their futures. As our children approach a year of isolation in the U.S. or stranded at our southern border, they go through the most important developmental stages of their life during a pandemic. Children need proper early-childhood education, yet most early-childhood education and child-care programs are out of reach for working-class families across the nation.

Regardless of the parties in power, our elected officials have failed to meet family needs. Now is the time for parties to come together and increase the investment into early childhood education and create a child care system that serves all Illinois families. Children feeling trapped at our southern border must be reunited with their families and protected from harm.

We can't vote, we can't attend presidential campaigns, and we can't get on a call with the president and voice our opinion. So what CAN we do? We can get involved in local politics, we can advocate for children, and we can make an impact. Child care impacts all of our families, our local economies and our ability to work. Tell your elected officials that child care must be their first priority.

Lavannya Deolalikar and Drushya Musham

Aurora