Our guest in this program was Dr. Lupe Jaime, Director of Care and Early Education at the Fresno County Office of Education. She is also a commissioner of the Fresno County First Five Commission. Dr. Jaime explained how a child’s brain develops and why it is so important for parents to talk and read to their children since they are newborn. For bilingual parents, she also highlighted the many benefits of speaking to children in more than one language, not only so that they become bilingual early on, but also because dual language learning helps better develop a child’s brain and increases social skills, including the ability to multi-task and be flexible when dealing with different cultures. Dr. Jaime also shared how the current climate of fear among immigrants is affecting children who fear their parents might be deported. The stress caused by fear of family separation is detrimental to a child’s development, so it’s important for parents who are undocumented to talk to their children and explain that regardless of what might happen they are loved. They should also share with their children plans on who will take care of them while issues are resolved.

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