Families across America, particularly those with young children, are struggling this summer. That economic strain is taking a toll on the emotional well-being of children and their caregivers. Magda Zalewska, a mother of three children under age 6 in Romeoville, Illinois, is one of the parents feeling immense financial pressure this year. (Zero to Three)Those stressors affect not just adults, but entire families, Melvin noted. Rodrigues and Melvin both emphasized the need for policies that support families, rather than ones that continue to take programs away and make life with young children less affordable.