Are Elected Officials Contributing to the Erosion of Childhood?

My speech in Albany

Last week, on May 7th, I went to Albany to fight back against bad bills that,if passed would harm our children. Here is my unedited speech.

My name is Dana Hensley, and I am proud to be a Co-founder of Restore Childhood. I was awakened during Covid-19 and I can never unsee the dysfunction and evil that our governors, his health department, and our legislators did to my kids, and to yours. 

Restore Childhood believes parents have a fundamental right to maintain sovereignty over their children. We reject governmental overreach and we endeavor to protect children from special interests in school, sports and health.

Things have changed from when we grew up, and not just in the ways previous generations have said about their children.

The lightning speed at which technology has invaded our children’s minds is unprecedented. How our kids are forced to learn, how they play, how they communicate- it’s all very Orwellian- and in New York, our elected officials have yet to step back and ask what role they play in the erosion of childhood. 

That’s why we are here today.

To force our elected officials to take notice of how their policies have damaged our kids.

Parents know best for our children. And we demand protections of our rights to maintain agency over ourselves and our families.

Our children both need and deserve a childhood which allows them to grow and develop into their greatest potential without indoctrination. They are beautiful and perfect as they are. They certainly don’t need to be hardened by the weight of adult worries and topics and they certainly don’t need to know all the names and colors of every sexual orientation flag by the end of elementary school. 

They need real education dollars funding things that matter- not the Governor’s $100 million dollars electric school bus project.

Governor Hochul, I don’t hate the environment.

I cloth diapered my four children, but I want education dollars spent on actual quality education.

Not a Tesla school bus. 

Children and parents deserve legislation that will prevent remote school from counting towards the required 180 days for funding. Yes, it’s still allowed, yes the department of ed requires every district to have a “pivot to remote” ugh I shudder with flashbacks everytime I hear that plan. There are no guardrails or limits on a superintendents decree to switch to remote learning.

Children and parents deserve legislation that protects the parent-child bond, not break it apart. Children cannot get a library card without a parent and I have to sign a half dozen waivers for sunscreen at summer camp, why is our legislature trying to pass A6761 that allows children to consent to any medical procedure or drug without parental consent or notification? 

Children and parents deserve a parental notification law. If a little boy tells the school they want to be called by a girl’s name, his parents must be notified. This is not rocket science.

But New York once again believes they know better than parents and instruct school officials to decide if a parent should be told. Some of the largest school districts in the state have official keeping secrets from parents policies. Between New York City and Buffalo school district; that is a million New York kids.

Women and girls deserve legislation that protects the integrity of sports.

Our friends in California, have a three part ballot initiative they are collecting signatures for that would put these issues our legislators are too cowardly to touch in the ballot- parental notification , protection of girls sports and prevention of child sterilization.

New York is not a citizen ballot initiative state so we can’t even take these issues to the voters ourselves. We have to come to Albany and make noise about it.

New York needs to rejoin the majority of America and bring back the religious exemption that needlessly deprived children of a public education. We need protections against further vaccine mandates and Covid shot mandates for work and school.

It seems that bodily autonomy is popular for only one thing. 

Politicians are usually not doctors. They are politicians. They should do the will of the people not the will of the pharmaceutical companies.

How many young athletes were coerced into getting a covid shot? I will never forget watching Erie County Executive Marc Poloncarz and his health Commissioner Gail Burstein during a press conference say “you should get vaccinated so you don’t be quarantine and can still play in your hockey tournament.” Getting a pharmacological product for the purpose of not missing a game due to risk of quarantine is the most ridiculous medical advice I’ve ever heard of. 

We need freedom to make the decisions that are right for ourselves and our children. In education, in medical decisions, in all things.

When you meet with your assembly person and senators office today, remind them that Liberty and Freedom are not dirty words.

They are the underpinnings of our constitution.