No matter what your political affiliations are, we can all agree on one thing: we must provide for and protect our children from outside harm. It seems that America's kids today are being neglected in the political arena, despite them being affected by numerous policies decisions made in Washington.
If you need to be convinced that America's kids are struggling more than ever, you should look at the statistics involving developmental milestones, mood disorders, and suicidal ideation among young people. Unfortunately, all of these metrics are up, in part because America's families are more broken and dysfunctional than in previous decades.
With this in mind, here are eight things we can do right now to improve the health and safety of America's kids. These policy goals would significantly improve the lives of children in the U.S.:
- Safeguard Children's bodies from irreparable harm
- Protect the unborn
- Shut down child trafficking
- Protect children from domestic abuse
- Address the dangers of social media
- Refuse to use children as as human shields from disease
- Protect children's right to socialize and play, and
- Promote intact biological families
While many of these issues were brought about as a result of the forced shutdown of our everyday lives due to covid (socializing was impossible in 2021), other challenges have been around for decades, without any politicians taking a stand for our kids.
If you'd like to learn more details about how we can protect kids in the U.S., please read this article from The Federalist. An excerpt of the article can be found below:
If there was any doubt that kids suffer when their own needs are subjugated to the fears and desires of adults, the Covid experience should have cast it out. For years, children en masse were put on the bottom of the priority list. Children are falling behind in education and key developmental milestones, mood disorders and loneliness are up, and suicide ideation has risen dramatically (including during the Covid era). Families are more broken and dysfunctional than in previous decades, and nearly 400,000 children are in foster care.
We should all agree there is no greatness in sacrificing the welfare of the vulnerable, yet where are the children specifically in today’s list of political priorities? If there was ever a political cause that could get us to sacrifice a bit more, to reach more earnestly across the aisle, and to risk our careers, it should be our children.
With all of the challenges facing American children in mind, we have to consider whether any politicians will take the time to stand up for our kids. My hope is that Congress can take time to establish policy initiatives that put our children first. If there's anyone in our society that needs outside protection, it's American children.
