All the babies are ours

We need practical ways to show collective care for America's youngest citizens

When my oldest son turned 18, I wrote him a letter to impart guidance from one generation to the next about health, finances, politics, and being human.

“Always smile at babies” is one piece he remembered. I’m proud of that.

The point was that as babies develop sight, they see a series of random faces as their parents move them from place to place. Some of these faces are animated and happy because they are family or friends. Other faces are mundane, preoccupied, and gruff.

Don’t be one of those faces. It’s up to us all to ensure babies are affirmed everywhere they go.

Babies often represent the most valuable yet overlooked element of the equation in the intricacies of societal growth. They represent our collective future, but we treat other people’s babies like furniture. While parents create the first spaces for a child's development, an entire community's proactive involvement can make an immense difference in nurturing a robust beginning for every child.

Why is Collective Responsibility Essential?

Firstly, wouldn’t the world be better if we felt collective responsibility for babies and if we all took some role in ensuring the healthy growth of our youngest members?

It's often said, "It takes a village to raise a child," but do we rise from our hyper-competitive, ruggedly individualistic auto-piloted lifestyles to act like villagers? When a community nurtures its young, it instills a sense of belonging and security in them from a tender age - that helps us all. This foundation provides emotional and mental stability, integral to developing resilient, confident adults, and pays off in fewer public health issues.

Collective responsibility benefits not only the children but also the whole community. It fosters an environment of care and empathy, influencing everyone to be more considerate and supportive of each other. Communities rallying around their youngest members often achieve a heightened sense of social cohesion, cooperation, and shared values that forms what we mean when we call our home a “good neighborhood.”

Practical Ways Communities Can Support Babies

On a small scale, good neighbors already exist on the baby front. When my kids were born, family and friends rallied around us with gifts, food, and any support we needed. Once you experience that type of wrap-around love, you want to share it with others when they have babies. But what’s the practical way that support can be amplified so communities can rally around their youngest members?

Here are a few that stuck with me after my time in social services:

Community Baby Showers: These are wonderful initiatives that celebrate the coming of a new life and support expectant parents. By donating essential baby items, participants can help ease the financial burden many new parents face and ensure that every baby has what they need on day one to thrive. It's also an excellent platform for educating parents-to-be on various aspects of baby care, from nutrition to mental health. It's a shared experience that fortifies the bonds within the community, showcasing that support and love extend beyond the immediate family.

Support for Pro-Baby Social Policies: Communities can demand social policies that benefit babies and young children. These policies can encompass a range of issues, including paid parental leave, affordable and high-quality childcare, early childhood education, and health care. By advocating for such policies, communities can level the field so all Americans have a strong, healthy start in life.

Establishing Support Networks: One thing I noticed while working in the welfare system was that sometimes I was the only person checking in on an expectant mother. It was sad to see how isolating pregnancy could be for some mothers. Communities can establish support networks for new parents, including mentorship programs with experienced parents or professionals, peer support groups, and access to mental health resources. These networks can be vital lifelines for new parents navigating the challenges of early parenthood.

Promotion of Early Childhood Education: Few people are outright against early childhood education. Most politicians hide behind this issue so they don’t have to talk much about the overly political issues in the K-12 system. But that doesn’t mean states have produced high-quality early education systems. Early ed is a ghetto for workers, with many earning so little to attend to the nation’s babies that it puts our love for the young in doubt. Communities can play a vital role in promoting and facilitating early childhood education. This could involve supporting local preschools, establishing community reading programs, or organizing educational activities for children and parents.

Health and Nutrition Initiatives: A child's early years are critical for long-term health and development. Communities can support this by facilitating access to nutritious food, providing education about healthy eating, and supporting initiatives to ensure the physical health of babies and young children. We also can demand that our leaders, especially mayors, have budgets, plans, measurements, and goals for how they answer the question, “How are the children.”

In my perfect world, every baby would be warm, fed, housed, and attended to by caring adults. Everywhere they’d go, they would see the smiling faces of people who engendered trust and nurturing. They would develop in the context of a society ordered for their thriving.

The community’s role in raising children cannot be overstated. By embracing collective responsibility, communities can ensure every child has the support, resources, and opportunities to thrive.

Start today. Smile at every baby you see.