It’s Time to Give Kids a Voice, Literally

And I need your help

When I decided to run for Congress, it was to give kids a voice in Washington, DC. Then, last April I launched our nation’s first and only Political Action Committee for kids, Their Future PAC, to do exactly that, on a national scale. You see, kids are left out of the political process because they can’t vote and  don’t have money to donate to campaigns. The devastating result of this is that they are very often dead last on the policy priority list. Yes, we hear candidates speak in broad, generic platitudes about children on the campaign trail all the time. But, VERY rarely does that translate into actual legislative work once candidates are elected. 

And this is why Medicaid (a health insurance program for low-income Americans and children) funding is up for renegotiation every few years, but Medicare funding is a line item budget item year after year. This is why a vote on the Expanded Child Tax Credit failed in the Senate earlier this summer, despite the fact that the COVID-era Expanded Child Tax Credit drove the child poverty rate down from 9.7% to 5.2%. This is why we can’t overcome the Senate filibuster

to pass expanded background checks, even though gun violence is now the leading cause of death for children in America. This is why Republicans want to dismantle the  Department of Education. Children are not seen as a powerful political constituency so they are de-prioritized or, even worse, used as pawns in Republicans’ political games.

As a pediatrician and a mom of three, I have seen enough. I am committed to giving kids a voice one way or another. Up until now, I have done that through my advocacy, my research, my writing, my podcast, interviewing child experts, and sharing my perspective as a pediatrician and mom. But last week in Savannah, Georgia, at a rally for Kamala Harris, it dawned on me, it’s time to give kids a voice, literally. So that’s what I did. I was armed with a camera and a couple of microphones. I scanned the crowd, I found the kids, and I talked to them (with their parent’s permission, of course). I shared those interviews on social media and am sharing them here now. 

As a non-child child advocate, it is important that I continue to use my voice FOR the kids. But less than 70 days until the most consequential election for the 73 million children in America, it is even more important that we hear FROM the kids. 

Sometimes I forget that as a mom of three and a pediatrician I have the privilege of seeing up close and personal the incredible potential in America’s next generation. I also hear directly from kids about what challenges they face in their lives, and what their hopes and dreams are. When you see and hear from kids all day, everyday, it is easy to comprehend what is at stake in November, what a second Trump term would mean for our nation’s youth. 

But most of y’all aren’t as lucky as I am. You have boring jobs. You don’t get to hear from kids all day. So it’s no surprise that kids aren’t the first thing you think of when  casting your vote. It's no surprise that you occasionally find yourself apathetic about politics, about what you, as a single human can do. But, it has been my experience that hearing directly from kids is like jet fuel to keep going, to keep working as hard as we possibly can EVERY SINGLE DAY between now and November 5th. 

So that’s what we are going to do.

I am turning over the reins of Their Future. Our Pod. to America’s youth, starting NOW. So if you know a kid who has something to say about their future, about the election, about what leaders should do FOR kids, about their hopes and their fears, send an audio file or a video to us at info@theirfutureourvote.org and we will include it in an upcoming episode of our podcast. If you know a kid who has done something incredible (like Scarlett Harper, featured in Episode 9 of the pod), I want to interview them on the pod. Send me their story and we will try to make it happen. If you know a kid who loves to write and wants to submit a guest essay for my Arena substack channel, send it to us! We want to hear from kids of all ages, from across the country. 

They can’t vote, so the least we can do is give them a platform to use their voices. And the thing about  kids, they say what they mean.

And I promise you, after hearing/reading this content FROM kids, your motivation to get involved this election cycle is going to grow exponentially. I hope you have comfortable shoes.