Child Care Aware® of America Offers Brain-Building Tips During Vroom Week: A creative approach to everyday interactions can help build children’s brains

WASHINGTON, DC — Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) is proud to host Vroom Week from November 26-30, 2018 to encourage families and caregivers to use simple prompts during daily moments to help build children’s brains.

CCAoA is excited to partner with Vroom, an early education initiative based on the latest brain science research about children under five. With its website app and corporate and nonprofit partners, Vroom encourages families and caregivers to use routine interactions, like bath time and grocery shopping, to engage with children, strengthening their neural networks.

In celebration of Vroom Week, CCAoA will be posting tips on our social media feeds, as well as on our web site each day during Vroom Week. Parents, families and childcare providers will have the chance to win gift cards when they post on social media about their experience using the daily Vroom tip with the hashtag #Vroom4TheFuture. We also encourage parents and families -- as well as those providers who have written permission -- to post photos and video of their experiences.

“Parents, families and child care workers are our children’s first teachers. CCAoA’s work with Vroom builds on the capacity of more than 400 child care resource and referral agencies,” said Dr. Lynette Fraga, executive director of Child Care Aware® of America.  “Part of our mission of ensuring quality child care for all is helping child care providers and parents access the best tools to nurture children’s cognitive development. We’re proud to highlight our work with Vroom this week as part of that effort.”

Sample Vroom tips:

• Build vocabulary and memory skills when you ask your child what their favorite part of the day was at bedtime--like stepping in a puddle or popping bubbles in the bath, then share yours with your child;
• Play “I Spy” with your child by picking a letter and trying to find it wherever you go. By taking turns calling out the letter when you see it, you teach your child to be aware of their environment and to make connections to similar things;
• Deepen your relationship with your child and build trust by inviting your child to help you exercise! Do leg lifts and raise your leg above your child’s head then back to the ground, talking about their size as you do.

For 30 years, CCAoA has been the leading voice for quality, affordable child care in the United States. While CCAoA continues to pursue our vision of the future in which every family in the United States has access to a high quality and affordable child care system, the sharing of accurate and updated information remains critical.

More than 11 million children under the age of five are in some form of child care in the United States. As the nation’s leading voice for child care, CCAoA is comprised of 125,000 online advocates and thousands of members across the country. For child care providers, we offer training on emergency preparedness as well as technical assistance that emphasize health, nutrition and obesity prevention and more.

To learn more about Child Care Aware® of America’s work, visit usa.childcareaware.org or follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

# # #

About Child Care Aware® of America
Child Care Aware® of America is our nation’s leading voice for child care. CCAoA works with state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs) and other community partners to ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care. CCAoA leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, offer comprehensive training to child care professionals, undertake research, and advocate for child care policies that improve the lives of children and families. To learn more, visit usa.childcareaware.org. Follow them on Twitter @USAChildCare and on Facebook at facebook.com/usachildcare.