Lemanada.

So much of our nervous systems are set by the time children are three. If we can invest in those first three years, we'll see a different society.

Those first few years of a child's life have a massive impact on where they end up as adults.

In a perfect world, school would look like 6 weeks to 18 years old.

But it's not a perfect world. World. When kids don't have access to quality childcare and early education, there are huge consequences.

We identified a few children with severe, severe development delays that their parents had absolutely no idea.

Even though the pandemic showed all of us how desperately important childcare is, we still don't invest in it like we need to. We are ranked as one of the last industrialized countries as far as quality childcare and supporting childcare. I'm Gloria Rivera, and this is No One is Coming to Save Us. This season, we're diving deep into America's childcare crisis and how it is deeply connected to many of the important issues we're grappling with as a nation, issues like intergenerational poverty.

When a family is in deep poverty and mom is literally fighting to survive, it's very hard for her to be emotionally there for her child.

Homelessness.

Homelessness doesn't always look like the person that's dirty and on drugs. It's me right now sitting here with my baby.

And climate change.

I walk into our hospital and the smoke outside was so overwhelming, you could actually smell it inside of the neonatal Intensive Care Unit where I work.

No One is Coming to Save Us Season 4, available August 22nd, wherever you get your podcast.