蜜桃影视

鈥淲e as a nation are taking parenting seriously for the first time,鈥� economic researcher The Washington Post鈥檚 Caroline Kitchener. 鈥淧eople are being smacked in the face with the intersection between parenting and economic growth.鈥�

A group of Florida executives is seeking to direct traffic at this intersection. Organized by The Children鈥檚 Movement of Florida, model how to make an impact in their companies and communities. In doing so, they are inspiring others to follow suit.

For Chad Loar, regional president of PNC Bank in west and central Florida, joining Bosses for Babies made sense, given PNC鈥檚 $500 million initiative, which serves children from birth to 5, by empowering their caregivers and supporting their teachers. 鈥淥ur regional presidents are encouraged to advocate on behalf of quality early learning legislation that benefits families, caregivers and teachers,鈥� says Loar. 鈥淲e believe that more resources are needed to relieve the financial burden that is placed on families to find affordable options for their children, while also advocating for improvement of the business model for providers.鈥�

Michelle Kapreilian, CEO of Forty Carrots in Sarasota, appreciates Bosses for Babies鈥� efforts during the Covid pandemic: 鈥淭he negative effects of isolation, financial insecurity and instability are increasing anxiety, tension and stress for children and families.鈥� Noting significant increases in requests for mental health services for children, as well as increases in聽the severity and frequency of mental health issues and serious parenting concerns, she adds,聽鈥淨uality and available child care is necessary for families to get back to work, and it is a vital component in supporting our community鈥檚 most vulnerable families.鈥�

In , Eddie Gonzalez-Loumiet CEO of Ruvos noted how the competition for talent often comes down to factors affecting the families of potential hires, saying, 鈥淲hen you interview someone, they ask, 鈥楾ell me about the schools, the parks, the health care.鈥欌�� He cited research showing that employees are more engaged and more productive if they have flexibility. He also added that since one of Ruvos鈥檚 initiatives involves data on newborn screenings, he regards babies as a business and personal priority.

, Gonzalez-Loumiet shares what he thinks goes into a family-friendly work environment:

• Starting a conversation with employees about family, early education and health care
• Sharing community resources for families and review human resources policies
• Updating the employee handbook to fit what is happening in the world and maintain flexibility

The hope is that over time, family-friendly policies will proliferate and become the norm. And yet peer pressure alone may not influence profit-driven companies to do enough. As , 鈥淐hild care has all kinds of benefits to society, from the healthy development of children to allowing mothers, who still disproportionately shoulder the task of child rearing, to be fully employed. But most employers will subsidize child care only if they can recoup the costs through lower absenteeism and turnover, so they spend less than is ideal.鈥�

That鈥檚 where federal, state and municipal policies can be most efficient, treating early childhood education as a public good like K-12 education. Elliot Haspel, author of Crawling Behind and Early Learning Nation contributor, in The New York Times.

Aakash Patel, founder and president of Elevate Inc., a Tampa-based strategic business consulting firm, it goes beyond family-friendly company policies: 鈥淲e can advocate on behalf of early learning with lawmakers. At the state level, we should oppose any cuts to already-meager early learning budgets and support programs that help the early learning workforce.鈥�

In another , Vance Aloupis, CEO of The Children鈥檚 Movement, confessed, 鈥淚鈥檓 an advocate, so when I walk into a room, people know what I鈥檓 going to be talking about.鈥� Business leaders, on the other hand, have the ear of their peers as well as legislators.

鈥淲e used to think, Somebody else has this,鈥� responded Mark Wilson, CEO of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. 鈥淏ut many of us have come to realize that an investment in children is an investment in all of us. These are future workers. They鈥檙e going to make our economy work.鈥�

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.