Every Baby Deserves To Have The Best Chance To Succeed In Life

As an immigrant to the United States, I am often amazed at all the blessings and opportunities most people enjoy. When I look around, I see many children who enjoy safe drinking water, education, health care, food, and reliable shelter.

But one can get lost in the perfect picture and forget that even in this powerful nation, and maybe just ’round the corner, there are millions of children from low-income families who miss opportunities develop to their full potential because of poor health, malnutrition, and little to no access of high-quality early education.

Early childhood education is very close to my heart. Even though I was really poor, my mom and dad sacrificed everything they had to enroll me in a private school so I could start learning when I was only two. I never had books of my own, but that experience set me up for academic success, and for being ahead of my peers in many ways (graduating high school at 15). The true blessing, I consider, is my love of learning, growing, and honing my skills.

Of course, when I became a mom, I wanted the same for my children. I started teaching them to read and write Spanish at a very early age, but finding myself a single mom with few options, I chose to go back to work to be able to support our little family, and to enroll them in daycare.

My little ladies were barely one and two years of age, and knowing that by age three, 85% of a baby’s brain is already developed, and the brain forms critical connections that set the foundation for future healthy development, I struggled tremendously, because I was unable to be as invested in the girls’ foundation for learning success. This is not something that, when missed, you can just make up for later on. This was my motivation to become a mompreneur – because I want to be an involved mom, and to pass on life skills to my daughters.

When I became a speaker, mentor, and trainer, I decided to invest my time, energy, and resources into teaching other moms and childcare providers about the impact of education in our little ones. It is a huge passion of mine, because I believe every baby deserves to have the best chance to succeed in life.

I was excited to find out that through its programs, Save the Children (a global organization dedicated to early childhood development) provides support to 300,000 U.S children in need, and JOHNSON’S® shares in this mission to make a positive impact on baby’s cognitive, social, and emotional development.

It breaks my heart to know that many brilliant babies are missing out, some even already 18 months behind developmentally by age 4, because their families don’t have the means to provide them with a healthy start. This deficit continues on throughout these kids’ lives, struggling to catch up (many never do), and end up having reduced opportunities in school and later in life.

I’m excited that JOHNSON’S® and Save the Children have partnered create a holistic toolkit that will incorporate the latest brain research focused on child development to support early brain development and offer practical solutions and interventions that can be integrated into health, nutrition, and community-based programs globally. I think this is a fantastic initiative and I fully support it.

As a mindset mentor myself, I love the fact that today we know that our brain power is not fixed, but something we can develop and improve. I love that when we have the tools and the support, and put in the effort (or practice) required, we can become better and expand our potential.

• 50 percent of disadvantage children are more likely to be placed in special education
• 25 percent of children in poverty level are more likely to drop out of school
  60 percent of kids of low-income families are more likely to never attend college
  70 percent of needy children are more likely to be arrested for a violent crime
  40 percent of underprivileged kids are more likely to become a teen parent.

I look at the statistics and, instead of feeling depressed by them, I feel hopeful that together we can make a shift in our world, by setting up our babies for success.

JOHNSON’S® and Save the Children are bringing awareness to the importance of early childhood development (ECD) programs, advocating for more babies to have an equal start in life, and we can join in by sharing the video, and sharing your own photos by selecting Save the Children® through the Donate a Photo app. JOHNSON’S® will triple its donation in support of children’s access to critical education programs.

As moms, we have a sacred and divine opportunity to shape lives. By being intentional, we can make an incredible difference, and start a ripple effect of goodness, too.

We can often underestimate the little things we can do to benefit our babies and toddlers’ brain development: bubbles at bath time, skin to skin contact, massage, music, scents, storytelling, and eye contact, are just a few.

We can also teach our older children to practice compassion for the kids who may be behind, and to help them in their efforts to catch up and succeed. As they understand these concepts, they will, in turn, become intentional parents who invest in their kids’ futures, and we can start to close this painful gap.

We can all do our part in making sure every child gets a fair shot at a vibrant future. How will you help? Share it with us in the comments below!