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Meet Families Advocating for Change From All Corners of the Country
How America's child care crisis impacts parents.
From coast to coast, Strolling Thunder families are speaking out for change. Families from WA, ME, FL, and AZ share what they want policymakers to understand and act on.
Baby Ixchel-Bella from Washington
Policy Ask: Expand quality, affordable child care
Alexis is a single mother of four children who works part-time and goes to school full-time.
Her goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty, and access to child care is helping make that possible. She qualifies for child care assistance, allowing her two youngest children to be enrolled in a trilingual early learning program, and her daughter with special needs to attend a specialized child care center. With these supports in place, Alexis completed a full year of college for the first time. Her goal is to end generational poverty, and accessible child care is helping her make that future possible for her children.
Every class I finish, every paycheck I bring home, every new word my kids learn is because of child care. Losing that would be devastating.
Baby Braden from Maine
Policy Ask: Support healthcare access for all families
At 20 weeks pregnant, Meghan learned she had lymphoma.
Brayden was delivered by C-section a month early. Just five days later, Megan began chemotherapy – six rounds over nearly five months. Brayden spent his first month in the NICU, but is now thriving. He sees a pediatrician regularly and is up to date on vaccinations. Medicaid made that possible.
Without MaineCare, the state’s Medicaid program, they would have faced overwhelming medical bills during a time when she couldn’t work.
Brayden’s mom is now a proud Parent Ambassador and volunteers to support other families. Brayden attends Early Head Start and is thriving. Medicaid gave them both a chance at a healthy future.
With Medicaid, I have a healthy boy and Brayden has a healthy mom.
Baby Vivian from Florida
Policy Ask: Support Early Head Start
For Ana, a military veteran, returning to civilian life brought unexpected challenges — especially the high cost of child care.
Early Head Start eased that burden. The program has assisted Ana through providing high-quality child care, diapers, extra food and supplies and even parent trainings. The center screens for developmental progress and Ana says no past child care center Vivian has attended is able to match the quality and support of Early Head Start.
Inspired by the program’s impact, Ana now serves as secretary of the Early Head Start policy council. For her family, Early Head Start has been more than care — it’s been essential support during a critical time.
The program’s resources, tools and trainings for parents have boosted my parenting skills.
Babies Canyon and Payette from Arizona
Policy Ask: Support quality, affordable child care
Where Gabby and her children live, there are no licensed child care providers in the entire county.
Gabby, a mother of four in Safford, Arizona, has worked as a wildland firefighter, EMT, and adult probation officer — but says her most important role is being a mom. As a second-generation American and descendant of both Basque and Native heritage, she honors her family’s legacy of sacrifice by advocating for her children.
Living in rural Graham County, Gabby and her husband have faced serious challenges finding child care. With no licensed child care centers in their rural county, families must rely on Facebook groups and word of mouth. They’ve had great sitters, but also unsafe ones.
It was an unreliable and expensive situation, forcing Gabby to leave her job. It wasn’t a choice she wanted to make, but it was the only safe and secure option.
No parent should have to choose between their child’s safety and their career.
51 Babies and Families
Strolling Thunder is ZERO TO THREE’s flagship advocacy event where families from all 50 states and DC come to Capitol Hill to tell Congress what babies and families need to thrive.
Alexis, Ana, Megan and Gabby are just a few of our Strolling Thunder families raising their voices on critical issues including access to quality, affordable child care, paid family leave, maternal mental health, infant and early childhood mental health and economic security. They will share deeply personal stories to make sure policymakers understand that these aren’t abstract policy debates — they’re daily realities.
You can support them by joining the movement: contact your members of Congress, share their stories, and demand bold federal action that puts babies and families first. When we speak up together, we make it impossible to ignore what babies need.
