Chapter 8, Part I: Education, Health, and the Early Childhood Connection

One of three national priorities proposed by Miller included “Mak(ing) sure that every child born is wanted.? He blamed the large number of unwanted pregnancies here on cutbacks in federal family planning funds and restrictions on legal abortions.? Miller, a pediatrician with the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, was the opening speaker at the ‘Ready or Not: Ensuring Good Beginnings for Children’ conference sponsored by the Parents as Teachers based in St. Louis.”[1]

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? Parents as Teachers? record keeping form titled Risk Factor Definitions gives examples for 12 areas of concern to be charted.? Item 10 states “Undue stress that adversely affects family functioning.? There are numerous stress factors that can affect family functioning.? These can include such things as a death in the family, divorce, separation, a parent that travels frequently, moving to a new home, birth of a sibling, three children under the age of three living in the home, prolonged illness in the family, loss of a job, low level of income, over crowded (sic) conditions in the home, frequent arguing or conflict in the home,”[2] etc.? (Emphasis added).

Do tax-supported programs such as Parents as Teachers, First Steps, Head Start? and others provide duplicate or overlapping services?? What is the expense to taxpayers?? The Parents as Teachers “program is designed to provide all parents of children, from before birth to age 3, the information and support they need to give their children the best possible start in life.? Parents as Teachers offers regularly scheduled home visits–periodic screening of children’s development for early detection of problems, and linkage with providers of needed services that are beyond the scope of the program.”[3]? Note that Medicaid? also covers such services.

Missouri’s School Improvement Act (SB380) and its School Foundation Formula allows “the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education? to include in its budget request sufficient money to allow all eligible children and parents to participate in the Parents as Teachers? Program beginning with the 1997-98 school year.”[4]? One school district’s beginning pay for a part-time early childhood? educator is $15.60 per hour.? Perhaps this helps explain the record-breaking tax increases Missourians are receiving.

Healthy Foundations? is a sexuality program for preschoolers and child care centers, which was authored by Peggy Brick, a past Planned Parenthood? director from New Jersey.? She is currently the president of SIECUS? (Sex Information Education Council of the U.S.).? Healthy Foundations is jointly sponsored by the Child Day Care Association? and Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region through the University of Missouri? in St. Louis.? The program is promoted to local school district’s early childhood? departments and others by the University’s School of Continuing Education’s Extension Center and its Pathways To Lifelong Learning.? Workshop trainers were two Planned Parenthood employees.? Note the collaboration and partnership? between the university, local school districts, and community child care providers.? This is what is meant by the slogan “It takes a village to raise a child.”

SIECUS’ Guidelines? includes comprehensive health? sexuality education for kindergarten? -12th grade, school-based clinics, school/community-linked services, and early childhood? programs.? One SIECUS Key Concept includes that “sexuality is central to being human and individuals express their sexuality in a variety of ways–masturbation, homosexuality, (and) heterosexuality.”[5] Concepts in the SIECUS Guidelines includes sexual orientation, decision-making, abortion, contraception, fantasy, shared sexual behavior, religion, etc.? Students are taught these concepts at each age level of 5-8, 9-12, 12-15, and 15-18.[6]? See the chapter titled “SIECUS, the CDC, and State Health Curricula.”

The University of Missouri? (UMSL) Continuing Education Extension Center produced a flier advertising their? “Saturday Morning Workshop Series for Those Dealing With Young Children and Their Families.”? One series was titled “Multicultural Education:? Moving Beyond Holidays and Food” which included a session titled “Same-Sex Parents” by a lady from the Child Day Care Association.? Each year the University holds a “Crucial Early Years Conference” spon­sored by: the University, a large St. Louis County school district, the child development center of a local hospital, and a major area hospital.[7]? Once again note the collaboration and partnership? between those with “politically correct” sex education? curricula and programs, local schools, and community day care? providers.

Analyzing Behavioral Problems in the Young Child? is a publication produced by a Missouri school district’s parent-child early education program.? The publication contains a “Nursery School Adjustment Rating” which allows teachers to rate the behav­iors? of children, family structure and eccentric family relationships.?

“The program is aimed at early detection of developmental atypicalities followed by early intervention.”? The chief purpose of the scale “is identifying those children whose observable behavior? is suggestive of significant deficits in personal-social development.”

The seven-item scale is comprised of five items “which pertain to the child’s observable behavior? and two items which pertain to knowledge about the child’s family.”? Item five is titled “family structure” and includes “parental death, divorce, separation, working mother, unusual number or spacing of children, prolonged parent absence, others living in home, serious illness of parent” (emphasis added).? Item six is titled “eccentric family relationships” and includes “withdrawal of child from nursery school, maternal overprotection, parental rejection, frequent absences from school, sibling problems, parent in psychiatric treatment, open parental conflict.”? To the credit of the writers of this program, the publication states, “we do not suggest direct inquiries.? Instead, the necessary knowledge about a particular family can only be obtained when offered freely and spontaneously.”[8]

It is reasonable to expect a child to bond with the person who is there to feed, change, teach and entertain the little one all day long, seeing to all its needs whether physical, emotional, psychological, educational, medical.? Mothers speak of how heartbreaking it is for them when their little ones reach for the day care? provider when they need comforting, or don’t want to leave with mom when it’s time to go home at the end of the day.

This author is convinced that those involved in early childhood? are good people who care about children and families.? Their intent is to screen (test) children to provide early assistance to those assessed to be “at-risk” in order to provide support and advice to parents who have questions or need referrals.? These good people are not aware that they are one cog in a huge and intricate wheel that is implementing a socialistic system of government health, education, and social services from womb to tomb.



[1] “Expert: Families Need Aid,” St. Louis Post Dispatch, Jun. 20, 1992.

[2] “Risk Factor Definitions - Record Keeping Forms” Revised Edition 1990. Missouri Department Elementary and Secondary Education, PAT National Center.

[3] “Parents as Teachers National Center, Inc.,” p. 1.

[4] CCS/HS/HCS/SS/SCS/SB380 School Foundation Formula.

[5] Guidelines For Comprehensive Sexuality Education K-12, SIECUS National Guidelines Task Force, copyright 1991, third printing, Apr. 1993, pp. 15, 32, 89.

[6] Ibid., p. 9.

[7] “26th Annual Crucial Early Years Conference,” Sept. 24, 1994, University of Missouri, St. Louis.

[8] “Analyzing Behavioral Problems In the Young Child,” a St. Louis County School District, Saturday School, pp. 21-27.