CHILDCARE IS IN CRISIS
DON’T TAKE THE BAIT
We all know it: childcare is in crisis. Though some want us to believe it’s a problem with too many tangles, we know that by working together, we can ensure our childcare providers have everything they need to give our kids quality, affordable, nurturing care.
Despite the passage of a budget without adequate childcare funding, we can still change what childcare looks like in Wisconsin for the better. Stand-alone legislation around providing what caretakers need and deserve may be on the horizon so now is the time to keep our narrative in the spotlight. If we stay persistent and united in sharing our vision, we can win a more feasible present and a brighter future.
THE OPPOSITION’S AGENDA
Many of the people who benefit from the childcare crisis are those who use race and class to try to turn us against each other. They think that if the rest of us believe this crisis is an individual failing instead of a systemic one, we will point fingers at each other while they dip their hands in the coffers.
Their narrative relies on making people who can’t afford child care the villains and blaming the parents and providers for the choices they’ve been forced to make. Remember, this is bait, and we will not fall for it.
ACTION STEPS
Talk to your legislators. Tell them you want affordable, quality child care.
Talk to childcare providers about what they need and get to understand them on individual levels so you can advocate for them.
Use this guide to keep the issue at the forefront of the public conversation and focus on our winning frame.
Stay updated with Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed for the next legislative steps.
WINNING NARRATIVES
Start with a value to align your audience with you before you ask them to do something or challenge a worldview.
Name the person/people that are not allowing what you want to happen, and most importantly, tell us what the motivation is for them to deny you.
Share a vision of the world you want, not just the absence of things you don't want. Don’t let people walk away thinking about how horrible the situation is-- fear is not motivational for most people, but righteous anger is– and so is hope above all else.
Adopt, edit, and personalize this template to work for you.
Values:
From the South shore of Lake Superior to the north side of Milwaukee, we all want our children to have safe, reliable caregivers that we trust.
And the people we trust with our children are some of the most important people in our lives. They encourage exploration, ensure our babies are nourished and are just as excited as we are for them to take their first steps or lose their first tooth. They provide safety and the freedom for kids to be themselves. Our childcare providers deserve the same level of compassion and care we entrust them to provide our children.
Villains and violation of shared values:
But today, corporate politicians refuse to provide what our childcare centers need, forcing them to charge working families unaffordable rates. These politicians are bullying child care centers and hurting all of us when they do so.
Naming why they are doing what they’re doing:
Then those same politicians blame us for leaving the workforce in the middle of a childcare desert. They try to divide us based on race and place or the wage we make so that we don’t stand together to demand that our childcare system be accessible and affordable to every family across Wisconsin.
Vision and Call to Action:
Here in Wisconsin, we know what’s best for us. We have hard-working families who deserve quality childcare AND a quality income. By coming together, we can ensure that every family in Wisconsin has access to safe, reliable and affordable childcare. Call your legislator today and tell them to [CTA]
Sample tweets/graphic captions/short messages
It takes a village to raise a child. No matter who we are or how much money we make, everyone in our village deserves to have what they need– that way, they can help us provide our children with what it takes to grow into healthy & happy humans.
We love all educators in our child’s lives: our teachers, our childcare providers, our community leaders, etc., and no matter how old our kids are, they deserve to have all their needs met at every level of their development.
We all remember the people in our childhood who left an imprint on us. Let’s make sure that the people in our kids’ lives today have everything they need, so they can give our children what they need.
We see through the right-wing’s attempt to divide hard-working Wisconsinites by how much is in our wallets. We know that no matter how hard-working we are, we deserve quality childcare.
WHY WE LAUNCHED THIS SERIES
Make it stand out!
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
This year is a pivotal crossroads for our state and our nation. In 2020, we came out in record numbers. We marched, we voted, we volunteered, and we elected new leaders to govern our interests.
But now, our time is running out to ensure that every person in Wisconsin knows how much they made a difference. If we cut through the noise, we can ensure they know that they changed the direction of our state, improved our lives, and will do it again.
Here’s the challenge: our collective knee-jerk reaction to disinformation and incorrect statements is to provide “enough” facts to win the day, argument and voter. But contrary to our instincts, this doesn’t work and can even strengthen our opponent’s narrative!
When we try to disprove a falsehood, what ends up happening is:
We deepen the audience’s belief in the lie
We repeat and reinforce our opponent’s frame
We expose the lie to folks that might not have heard it before
At the same time, we know we can’t stay silent. This monthly newsletter will help inform how to dispel lies and call out dog whistles without repeating them.
