CARING FOR OUR CHILDREN - Editorial
Since so many adult students are also parents, we thought it was about time to do an issue about caring for children.
Anyone who is a parent knows how much learning comes with this new role: learning how to be a parent, how to teach, discipline, guide, help your children grow and find their way in the world. We also learn a lot about ourselves in the process—who we are as parents, how our views of the world change as we enter this new role, and what kind of support we need to be good parents.
This issue is both a sharing of parents' stories—of their love, commitment, joys, strengths, struggles, and journeys—and a resource for reflecting on our roles and deepening our learning as parents.
We decided to focus this issue on caring for young children. It became apparent during the development of this issue that the parents of school-aged kids and teens—and their children—are facing a whole different set of challenges and questions than those with younger-aged children. We hope to focus a future issue on the needs of parents with older kids.
You'll no doubt notice the absence of any information on children's health. This seemed best left to medical professionals. Neither did we cover issues such as educational testing, family violence, the effect of welfare reform on kids, and several other worthy topics. As in any issue, we just don't have enough space to cover it all.
We hope you'll enjoy this issue with its heartfelt stories, parent-to-parent advice, thought-provoking articles, and calls to action. Parenting is hard work with often unpredictable ups and downs. May this issue support you wherever you find yourself on the parenting journey.
—Angela Orlando and Cara Anaam, Editors
