Baby Bill of Rights Preamble

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PREAMBLE

There is a need to establish a powerful statement of the rights for all babies. Only after we have done so can we begin to address what adults need to do to ensure that they and society live up to their responsibilities. For many years we were unaware of the impact of the brain development of babies and the importance of the years from birth to three. We have learned that the first years in a baby’s life can literally determine his or her future; now we must endorse what we know. Far too often, we have focused on problems and deficits, reciting statistics that talk about issues such as child abuse, health problems, and developmental disabilities, but failed to talk about strengthening all families.

We hope that the Baby Bill of Rights will help to inspire discussions, create solutions, and establish programs to work on the many issues that face our youngest citizens. Even more, we want to state unequivocally that these are rights for all of our children, and that they will live in a society where every child is well-nurtured, emotionally healthy, and capable of reaching his or her full potential.

The people of California have spoken in support of all children birth to five with their support of Proposition 10; the California Legislature agreed in the California Education Master Plan. The Baby Bill of Rights is the next step in the fulfillment of adults’ commitment on behalf of our children.

THE BABY BILL OF RIGHTS

Fulfillment of these rights requires a commitment of adults on behalf of children. It is established that babies’ brains grow most rapidly and are the most vulnerable during the first months and years of life, and that babies are fully dependent on their caregivers for all aspects of nourishment and security: their rights arise from this inherent dependency. As adults, we believe that to secure these rights is the responsibility of parents, family, community, business, and elected representatives of our youngest citizens.

As persons charged with and dedicated to upholding these Rights of All Babies, we hereby pledge:

To make sense of our own lives so that we can recognize, understand, and respond to our babies’ signals and help them form secure attachments;
To protect their health and well-being by providing nutritious food, consistent and safe shelter, and protective clothing;
To protect them from exposure to harmful diseases and substances, potential injury, and all violence;
To create and maintain nurturing environments and experiences that promote physical, cognitive, social, and emotional stability and growth;
To teach and model for them, as they grow, how to discern right from wrong, how to make meaningful choices and to obey the law;
To teach them of their duty to their co-inhabitants of the earth and their responsibility to protect the earth for future generations;
To make it the first priority of the parent(s) to establish and maintain a healthy and stable family to ensure the baby’s development for today, tomorrow, and the future;
To establish daily family rituals of time together for meals, play, conversation, and reflection;
To hold them close and tell them they are loved;
To walk with them, show them, and tell them about the world beyond;
To read or engage in pre-literacy activities to model and prepare them for life-long learning;
To expect that community services for children are individualized, coordinated, relationship-based, culturally responsive, and family-centered;
To expect and maintain the highest standards for all professionals and paraprofessionals whose occupations are child-related;
To expect local, state, and federal officials to instill models of public generosity and to acknowledge excellence in group efforts to uphold this Baby Bill of Rights.