Chanta, Ohio

Raising a Baby in the Gaps

What I want most for my children is simple. I want them to grow up believing in their own potential and knowing they are supported.

Our family participates in Early Head Start, and the program has been incredibly valuable. An Early Head Start educator comes to our home once a week to work with my youngest, Vontez. That one day matters. It supports his learning and helps guide me as a parent.

That one day a week matters, but it is not enough to meet my baby’s full developmental needs.

Chanta

When Support Is Helpful but Not Enough

The other four days, I am Vontez’s caregiver, teacher, and early educator while also doing my own job and managing the needs of my older children. I cannot afford to enroll him in child care, and my income places me just outside the eligibility requirements for child care vouchers. That leaves us in a difficult position that many families find themselves in.

There are days when I know I cannot give Vontez the full attention he deserves, simply because I am stretched too thin. That is hard to carry as a parent.

I am constantly balancing work, caregiving, and early learning, and it affects everyone in our family. My older children feel it too.

Chanta

What Babies Miss When Access Is Limited

I also worry about Vontez’s social and emotional development. He does not get the opportunity to regularly spend time with other one-year-olds. Babies learn from each other through play, observation, and routine. Those early interactions matter, and I feel like he is missing out on important early learning experiences.

This journey has shown me how many families fall through the cracks, even when they are working hard and doing everything they can. Too often, parents are forced to make impossible tradeoffs because supports are limited or out of reach.

Believing in babies means making sure programs like Early Head Start are strong enough to meet real family needs. It means expanding access so children are not limited by income cutoffs, zip codes, or narrow eligibility rules.

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