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Pushing for change, one stroller at a time: Parents, babies rally for more support from lawmakers

Posted at 9:34 AM, May 01, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-01 09:34:33-04

It's a push for change — one stroller at a time.

Mothers, fathers and babies from all 50 states rallied Tuesday in Washington, D.C., armed with strollers, to send a message to Congress about the importance of families.

Strolling Thunder , put on by the campaign Think Babies , is a play on words of the annual motorcycle rally Rolling Thunder.

Among the crowd at the rally was 26-year-old Kasey Werpecinisky.

The mother of two came all the way from Smithville, Tennessee, to Capitol Hill to raise awareness of how difficult it is to find quality, affordable child care.

Werpecinisky pays up to $800 a month per child for daycare. The working mother says the cost just isn't sustainable.

"When your daycare bill is twice as much as your rent bill, that's a problem," she said.

Others were there pushing for better paid parental leave, better health care and more access to food and nutrition services — all things they say working class Americans need in order to raise stronger families and give young ones a good head start in life.