Parents' Day falls on the 4th Sunday in July. The role of a parent (or caregiver) – whether an uncle, grandmother, or adoptive—is very important. Parents offer stability, love, care, and most importantly a sense of belonging. A strong child-parent relationship can lead to a bright future and overall sense of support.
Parents, however, and similarly to most adults, lead incredibly busy lives and juggle a variety of responsibilities. Like the children they care for, parents too deserve stability, love and care. One way to support parents and caregivers is through equitable access to age-appropriate enrichment programming. Some examples of this include an after-school coding club led by local college students, a free course in lifeguard training to help teens get summer jobs at the pool, or a mentorship program held at the neighborhood youth center.
Every parent deserves equal access to good resources— daycare, mental health care, a quality education system, financial assistance. Unfortunately, not all parents receive or have equal access to these supports. In the Los Angeles region as well as many major metropolitans, economic status plays a role in access to resources and support. For instance, “Schools with students from the highest concentrations of poverty have fewer library resources to draw on (fewer staff, libraries are open fewer hours per week, and staff are less well rounded) than those serving middle-income children.” [1] This, which is no fault of the community, results in parents and youth receiving less support and less resources solely due to their class status.
Our work at CYS is dedicated to addressing the disparities occurring within much of LA county's socioeconomic classes through community-based programs, educational opportunities, and increased access to resources.
Parents’ Day is a chance to thank all parents and caregivers for the energy they put into raising our children. It is also an opportunity to recognize the challenges faced when raising a child in America and respond by creating solutions that can effectively address those challenges. To learn more about Parents’ Day, visit: https://parentsday.com/