NORWICH – Recognized by caregivers, parents and early childhood educators as the Month of the Young Child, April will find mother of three, college student and intern for the county’s Child Care Coordinating Council Heather McShane putting together a month’s worth of activities and events to celebrate the nationally designated initiative.

Things will kick off Sunday with a children’s book giveaway at Nina’s Pizzeria and Oxford’s Roma Pizzeria, and continue throughout the month with area children’s artwork displayed in the storefront of the former First Edition Book Store. On Sunday, any child eating at one of the local pizzerias will receive a free book, as long as supplies last. A Child Care Provider Appreciation Dinner, said McShane, is also being planned for the end of the month, featuring guest speaker, parent and lawyer Saima Akhtar, who she called “a great speaker.”

A full-time student at Morrisville State College’s Norwich Campus, McShane has three young daughters and works three part-time jobs, in addition to her internship with the Child Care Coordinating Council, which she’s nearly completed. The long hours she spends at school and work, however, required her to secure child care during non-traditional hours, something she said was difficult to find locally. An Early Childhood Development student at the Norwich Campus, McShane said she became “very concerned” that she had placed her children in an unlicensed family child care home, but felt she had little choice. Now, she added, she feels it’s her responsibility to educate parents on the potential dangers of unlicensed child care, despite the tough choices they face when it comes to safety and quality versus affordability.

From March 6 through 10, McShane attended the National Child Care Policy Symposium in Washington, D.C., one of 15 people chosen to represent parents and meet with members of Congress, their staff and other child care advocates from across the country. The goal, said McShane, was to share child care concerns and advocate for quality child care that’s both affordable and safe.

Said Ollie Smith, interim executive director of National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, the organization was “extremely pleased” to have parents like McShane attend the symposium.

By attending – and voicing her child care concerns to policymakers – McShane is “primed to affect change and improve the quality of care that children receive,” she added.