Numerous studies have shown the importance of early childhood education. Infants start learning almost immediately, and the toddler years are key to developing learning capacity.

But for parents, knowing what they should be doing can be a mystery — especially for new parents.

That’s why a new effort spearheaded by United Way of Southern Kentucky should be applauded and embraced.

UWSK is working on launching an evidence-based messaging service program to serve families of toddlers and infants through five years old.

In partnership with ParentPowered, the service sends three weekly texts to families and guardians with children ages 0-5 being the focus.

According to UWSK, the messages are accessible, research-backed strategies intended to promote early development and learning.

UWSK is planning a soft launch soon that involves a few funded partners, including Warren County Public Schools. A hard launch with more partners will follow in late summer or fall.

“Kindergarten readiness is so important to the trajectory of a child’s life, and so that’s what this program is about,” UWSK Director of Community Impact Hannah Gray told the Daily News. “We are trying to help parents get their children ready for kindergarten, and a lot of parents don’t know how to do that or even know that they’re supposed to do that. So, this is our effort to just continue to get the word out, provide supports to those families.”

UWSK will also use the platform to provide links to other resources and messaging that will be useful for parents, and the messages will be available in at least eight languages.

We hope that parents will take advantage of this program when it becomes available to them, and we applaud United Way of Southern Kentucky for once again filling a vital community need.