A Texas-based nonprofit is hosting the first Baby Day™ today, February 8. Billed as “the first ever statewide celebration of the first three years, when early experiences shape livelong potential,” Baby Day is a celebration not only of the birth of a baby but of the life immediately after. Baby Day is a reminder to Texans that many care not only about babies simply being born but about their development into healthy and happy people. 
The Baby Day website says:
Imagine waking up to a day that celebrated the excitement and opportunity of the tiniest Texans. Where families meet for playdates in parks, workplaces provide flexibility and support to new parents, and politicians pledge to support our future by building stronger policies for the leaders of tomorrow… the babies of today.
Baby Day is the brain child of First3Years, a Texas association committed to the nurture and development of children in the most crucial time of their lives, the first three years, in which 85% of their brains are developed.The Baby Day site notes:
- 100 Billion neuron connections at birth
- 60% of a baby’s energy is spent on growing their brain
- 7 Months Old a baby starts to form the part of the brain for speech
- First 3 Years see the fastest growth in brain development
And Baby Day wants Texas to pounce on the opportunity available to serve the littlest Texans in their most vulnerable time.
Baby Day has a listing of special events across Texas on Saturday, which also includes a link if you are interested in hosting a similar event in your city or state in the future.
But perhaps most notable for most parents is what comes under the “Get Involved” page. This page encourages employers to have family-friendly policies, flexible work environments, and other actions that make it easier to be an involved and supportive parent, helping children to develop accordingly.
READ: Report: Pregnancy centers served nearly 2 million with free services in 2017
Let’s face it, though. It also encourages parenting in general. When inconveniences related to jobs or financial situations are some of the more commonly-cited reasons for abortions, it’s clear policies like this would show women they would have support in parenting. When women have opportunities to further their careers and nurture their children at the same time, they don’t see one or the other as a threat.
Baby Day is simply another step forward for Texas, a pro-life state that has been at the forefront of abortion controversy, often unfairly attacked by abortion advocates for “only wanting the baby to be born.” Baby Day’s parent organization First3Years flies in the face of that accusation as it does exactly the opposite and houses programs that help those babies after their birth. This excerpt from its annual report shows what First3Years is doing for babies in need:
Listed on their final annual report page are several donors and sponsor organizations and foundations. They include banks, grocery store foundations, church organizations, and community foundations. Notably missing is Planned Parenthood, who would seem to be the most appropriate — by its name and claim — type of organization to help plan for parents to help their children develop in their first few years. However, that organization is too focused on the 332,757 preborn babies’ lives it got paid to take last year (p. 25) than how to help nurture their lives to the fullest and keep them safe, loved and wanted in the future. Organizations like pregnancy resource centers (which offer parenting classes and an enormous amount of resources for born children and their parents), along with First3Years and Baby Day, are truly helping babies and their parents.
