Celebrating Parents’ Day: Supporting Children by Supporting Parents

As we celebrate Parents’ Day on July 28, 2024, we’re taking intentional time to recognize the caretaking journey — the challenges and joys, the teamwork and support, and the resilience and dedication involved in raising children. 

While no one is claiming that the role of a parent or caregiver is an easy one, it is an important one, shaping the lives of our children and our next generation. That’s why, though Room to Grow’s mission is to help children thrive from the start, a portion of our program’s content and support is targeted toward parents and caregivers with a two-generation, evidence-informed approach.

The Research Behind Our Approach

The U.S. is one of the least “family-friendly”, high-income countries in the world, contributing a meager 0.02% of the nation’s GDP toward childcare for infants and toddlers. Currently, parents and caregivers of young children are responsible for immense contributions toward early childhood care and education, either by direct payment for these services or by forgoing paid work to provide this care themselves. These high costs and lack of governmental support for young children and families create additional challenges to parents and caregivers raising children in the context of intersecting systemic racism, misogyny, classism, and anti-LGBTQIA+ systems in this country. 

Research has shown that the relationship between family poverty and child development is most critical in a child’s earliest years. This is when children spend the majority of their time with their parents and caregivers, making the caretaking role crucial in laying the groundwork for healthy cognitive and socio-emotional development.

Poverty can increase stress levels, affecting parents' and caregivers’ psychological well-being and reducing their human capital. This psychological distress can increase the risk of mental health disorders such as depression, and as observed in a research study, this can reduce parents’ and caregivers’ capacity to engage in warm, responsive, and stimulating interactions with their children.

Low income and the associated stress can diminish parents’ and caregivers’ confidence and their belief in their ability to perform parenting-related tasks effectively. This, in turn, affects their children’s development.

Why Room to Grow Chose a Two-Generation Approach

Recognizing the interconnected nature of caregivers’ well-being and children’s development, Room to Grow adopted a two-generation approach. The wraparound support system we provide contributes to longer-term success and stability compared to programs that work with only one part of the family. By supporting parents and caregivers, we are helping create positive impacts on children. Here are a few ways we do this:

1. Help parents and caregivers recognize their strengths 

   • Parents who feel capable and effective show reductions in depressive symptoms and engage in more educationally enriching activities with their children, such as reading, which boosts early childhood development. In our program, families set the agenda. We work alongside parents and caregivers in 1-1 visits to understand what their priorities and goals are for their own family. With that personalized guidance from our team, we partner with families to build upon their existing skill sets and to develop strategies that align with their priorities for their family. Through the Room to Grow program, 95% of families report that we help them achieve their goals as parents.

2. Reduce stress in parents and caregivers

   • The combination of material, educational, and systemic stressors can create toxic stress effects on parents and caregivers, as well as on their children’s developing brains. In our program, 92% of parents report that Room to Grow helps them reduce stress. One of the ways we do this is by alleviating worries of material goods. In 2023 alone, Room to Grow provided over 160,000 baby and toddler items to our families. Access to high-quality material items relieves parents and caregivers of the stress associated with locating, affording, and acquiring necessary resources, allowing them to focus on what matters most to them. (You can help us stock our shelves by donating items here.)

3. Equip parents and caregivers with the tools they need

   • The program team at Room to Grow are Family and Early Childhood Specialists who partner with families to offer personalized guidance to not only bolster the development of the child, but also to provide emotional support for caregivers and navigate any barriers to accessing care. Throughout 2023, we provided nearly 6,000 hours in 1-1 coaching and personalized support for families and coordinated over 500 community referrals. With our program, 87% of parents report having confidence in responding to challenges and opportunities.

4. Affirm the dignity and agency of the parents and caregivers

   • Every caregiver knows best what they need for their children. While our team provides information, support, and resources, the caregiver’s voice and choice is at the center of everything we do. When parents or caregivers stand in their inherent dignity, worth, and agency, they can more confidently make decisions for their child’s development — all while the Room to Grow team celebrates their milestones and supports them along the way.

Celebrating Parents and Caregivers

With Parents’ Day approaching, we are celebrating all the incredible parents and caregivers who partner with Room to Grow. Together, we are working toward a future where every child can thrive from the start and where every caregiver has the support to guide them.

Follow along this week as we continue to celebrate Parents’ Day on our blog and social media.