Give children high priority they deserve: Column
- Despite areas of improvement%2C outlook remains bleak.
- Millions of children are still living in poverty and go to bed hungry.
- Nurturing kids could become one of president%27s most enduring legacies.
President Obama has placed the plight and vulnerabilities of the nation's children high on his second-term agenda. In his inaugural speech on Monday, the president called on the nation to care for the most vulnerable, and ensure that "all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, (Conn.), know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm."
Just five weeks earlier, speaking at a memorial for the children slain at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, the president said of caring for our children that, "It's our first job. If we don't get it right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged."
We couldn't agree more. But, getting it right will require a real commitment of effort and resources to make sure that all of our children are not only safe from horrific violence, but also able to grow and thrive to their full potential.
There are many obstacles facing children living in poverty -- and it's not just lack of access to doctors. Homelessness, food insecurity, mental and emotional health disparities, educational inequities, transportation barriers, danger in our streets and too many substandard schools, have made it extremely difficult for poor children to achieve their potential.
Despite isolated pockets of improvement, the outlook for children in America today remains bleak. We're already a decade into the 21st century and our wealthy, industrious nation has 17 million children living in poverty. More than 16 million U.S. children regularly go to bed hungry and less than half of disadvantaged eligible preschoolers have an opportunity to get into an early education program.
Following the inauguration, the White House announced that President Obama's campaign team would be morphing into a new entity, "Organizing for Action", created to engage the public in making sure the president's second-term agenda moves forward. We strongly urge this new organization -- and the president -- to keep children at the top of the nation's priorities. And we hope he returns to this theme in his State of the Union speech next month.
How appropriate and inspiring it would be for President Obama addressing the Congress to call for a new National Commission on Children, perhaps starting with a White House conference convening experts, parents and policy experts to lay out a course that would eliminate child poverty in America.
We all legitimately worry about leaving our children and grandchildren with astronomical debt. But if we worry about long-term consequences that may well undermine the nation's ability to remain economically strong and globally influential; we should have similar concerns about allowing another generation of children to grow up poor, undereducated and unprepared to contribute fully to the American future.
If equality, opportunity and growth are values that will drive the agenda for Obama's second term, then protecting, nurturing and inspiring all of our children will become one of the president's most enduring legacies.
Singer/songwriter Paul Simon and Irwin Redlener, MD, are co-founders of the Children's Health Fund, a national organization dedicated to providing essential medical care to the homeless and poor children across the United States.
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