For anyone following the news of the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, it should be clear that we are failing our children.

For anyone following the news of Oregon’s state audit of the Oregon Department of Education titled “State Leaders and Policymakers Must Address Persistent System Risks to Improve K-12 Equity and Student Success,” it should be clear that we are failing our children.

For anyone following the news about the nationwide shortage of child care and preschool, it should be clear that we are failing our children.

We are America. We are the most wealthy and powerful country in the world by some measures. Yet, by many other measures, we suck.

Here are a few from the Children’s Defense Fund’s 2021 report:

Child poverty: Nearly 1 in 6 children under age 6 live in households below the poverty line.

Child hunger: More than 1 in 7 children live in “food insecure” households.

Gun violence: Guns — not motor vehicle accidents — were the leading cause of death in 2018 in children ages 1-19. Nine children die of gun violence every day in this country.

Bullying: In 2019, 22% of students age 12-18 reported being bullied during the school year.

Education: In 2019, at least 67% of public school eighth-graders were not proficient in reading and math. And, only 85% of high school students graduate on time.

Early childhood care and education: Our lack of investment in child care and early education means that most families cannot afford (or even find) quality care and education for their infants, toddlers and preschoolers.

All this, despite plenty of research showing that for every $1 invested in early childhood — birth through kindergarten — the lifelong return on investment is more than 13% a year.

We have neglected our youngest children and their parents for far too long.

Lack of investment in quality early childhood programs has ripple effects. Children who have no exposure to high-quality preschool often struggle in kindergarten. Those children struggle to read by third grade, and struggle to graduate from high school.

Brain development begins at birth, and so much intellectual and socio-emotional development happens in the first five years. Yet we only begin public investment in our children when they turn 5 and enter the K-12 school system. Our tax dollars would go so much further if spent on younger children.

We all need to focus on investments in early child care and preschool.

Universal federally-funded preschool for 3- and 4-year olds would be a great place to start. This does not mean expanding the K-12 school system, although that may work in some areas. It means supporting high-quality, nonprofit child care centers and in-home child care as well.

Let’s stop failing our children.