Early childhood is a time of unbounded growth and learning, and parents
play a major role in that early development. Experts and support specialists
emphasize the critical role that parents play in these early years, but parents
of young children may not always see how expert advice relates to their
parenting experiences.
Joan Eichner, the children’s policy director at OCD, sought to creatively
connect this expert information about early learning and development to the actual
experiences of parents. “At the end of the day, all of our work—the work of the
professionals—is meant to improve outcomes for kids,” said Eichner. “The best
way that can happen, and the only way that our efforts will be sustainable, is
when parents are involved. Their perspective and their day-to-day reality is
crucial as we think about creating early childhood services and building public
awareness about child and family issues.”
While exploring ways to increase public awareness about the importance
of early learning, Eichner discovered the Under 4ft Tall, the final competition
of the Pittsburgh and Grable foundations’ Voices of Youth initiative. Under
4ft Tall supports projects that advocate for the issues facing young children. After
Eichner’s project was selected as a finalist, it won funding by a public online
vote.
Between November 2010 and July 2011, Eichner worked with Pittsburgh
Filmmakers to develop DocYOUmenting Hope, a 20-minute documentary on early childhood and
parenting. The documentary features a variety of perspectives on the importance
of early childhood learning and development, including those of early childhood
experts, teachers, and parents raising young children. Each perspective focuses
on the hopeful, unbounded feeling of early childhood learning.
The documentary is split into three sections: Early Learning Through
Relationships, Early Learning Through Play, and Parents’ Hopes and Dreams. In
the first two sections, early childhood experts, teachers, and parents of young
children share their perspectives on the impact that relationships and play
have on a developing child.
The final section focuses entirely on parents’ own hopes and dreams for
their children. According to Eichner, this perspective on early childhood is particularly
important. “There is a lot of information out there about parenting, and some
parents might not know what to do with all the information being pressed upon
them,” said Eichner. “Our hope is that this documentary approach encourages
parents by helping them to hear the voices of other parents.”
Parents’ Hopes and
Dreams
Eichner hopes that the film, as part of OCD’s ongoing efforts to improve
communication about children, will inspire increase public understanding of early child development while inspiring adults
to recognize that they have—through their interactions with young children—something
worth giving to nurture that youthful hope in a child’s
early years.