Parents are their child’s first and most
important teachers, but many parents
say they don’t know how to make the most
of this role to give their children the
best possible start in school and life.
Right now, Washington state is home
to about 350,000 children under the
age of 3 – that means there are many
parents who could use and might
want a little help.
In spring 2011, Thrive by Five Washington, in partnership with the Department of Early Learning, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and other statewide and local partners, launched “Love. Talk. Play.” This innovative grassroots campaign surrounds parents with simple, yet powerful, messages that help them give their children the best start in life possible by encouraging them to bring more incorporate love, talk and play into their everyday activities with their young children.
While any parent will benefit from the campaign, special focus is being given to reaching lower-income and vulnerable families with children birth to age 3. Ten regional early learning coalitions that Thrive supports are helping to determine how best to reach parents in their communities and to distribute campaign materials. Through the coalitions, connections are being made with home visiting programs, play and learn groups, health clinics and other services.
Information from national early learning experts, conversations with parents and input from the state’s early learning coalitions and state partners helped shape the campaign.
Learn more about Love. Talk. Play. at www.LoveTalkPlay.org.
