Current Initiatives
The Basics
In February 2021, Kids’ First Years launched its first community-wide campaign, The Basics. The Basics are five, science-based, parenting and caregiving principles that encompass much of what experts find is important for children from birth to age three. They offer caregivers simple, fun and free ways to promote healthy development within the natural course of everyday activities. The project originated at Harvard and is inspired by the fact that 80% of brain growth happens in the first three years of life. Everyday interactions between children, their parents, and other caregivers provide abundant opportunities to support children during this crucial time of their development. To learn more, visit our The Basics page.
Community Baby Showers
Once a quarter, Kids’ First Years’ partners gather to host a Community Baby Shower for new and expectant mothers in Alexandria. While we know that motherhood is an exciting time, it is also a time filled with many questions. The Baby Showers are a time when we can celebrate our community’s moms, while also providing them with information and resources that will help them better navigate family life in Alexandria.
Past exhibitors at our Community Baby Showers have included: The Center for Alexandria’s Children, the Alexandria Health Department, Northern Virginia Family Services – Healthy Families, the Infant and Toddler Connection of Alexandria/PIE program, Neighborhood Health, Inova Partnership for Healthier Communities, First Shift Justice Project, The Campagna Center, Anthem Health Keepers Plus Medicaid, and the Alexandria City Library.
Connect & Play
On the first Friday of every month at 10:00 a.m., Kids’ First Years and The Center for Alexandria’s Children, in collaboration with our friends at the William Ramsay Recreation Center and other partners, host an educational play group for parents and young children. The purpose of this monthly gathering is to introduce more families to The Basics while giving them ideas that they can use at home with their own children. Every family also leaves with a new toy, craft activity, or book.
This monthly gathering also provides a space for parents to get to know each other over coffee and delicious treats. It is our hope that families will make new connections both with KFY partners and one another!
