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The bill also included a $115 million increase in funding for Early Head Start, a program for low-income pregnant women, infants and toddlers up to age 3, and first-time funding for mental health support for infants and toddlers.

Strolling Thunder parents want to make sure that the funding, which Jones-Taylor described as a \"down payment,\" is not reversed and continues to grow.

\"PHOTO:
Nikki Cee for Eyemagination Imaging
PHOTO: A young Strolling Thunder participant decorates a sign to hang on his stroller on Capitol Hill.
>

The funding should matter to everyone, even people who are not currently benefiting from the programs, according to Lingerfelt.

\"This is not something that I ever thought would be in the realm of possibilities,\" Lingerfelt, 25, said of lobbying Congress for funding for early childhood intervention. \"I think it’s important for other people to realize that kids like Noah, and kids of all ages, they’re going to be our future.\"

In addition to funding requests, Strolling Thunder participants are also asking Congress to pass the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, that would create a national program to make paid leave available to all workers and their families.

\"PHOTO:
Paul Morigi/AP for Zero To Three
PHOTO: A toddler steps up to the podium on the East lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building during Zero To Three's second annual Strolling Thunder event to urge Congress to Think Babies and make the potential of every baby a national priority, May 8, 2018.
>

Their attention is also focused on the Childcare for Working Families Act that would build on the Child Care and Development Block Grant, with particular focus on childcare for infants and toddlers.

\"I’ve had job opportunities but I couldn’t take them because I didn’t have anyone to watch [Lucia],\" Hoff said. \"I had to decline because childcare is very expensive and if we had cheaper childcare parents would have better opportunities to get a job.\"

Beyond Washington, D.C., Strolling Thunder is also happening on the local level -- with rallies planned in Colorado, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Rhode Island, California and Washington state this month and next -- and online at ThinkBabies.org.

\"Babies who don’t get what their growing brains need during this critical time can face lifelong health, physical and developmental problems that end up costing this country in many ways,\" said Jones-Taylor. \"It is such a waste to not make sure each child reaches their full potential.\"

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