First lady unveils kids health effort
WASHINGTON — Melania Trump on Monday gave her multipronged effort to promote the well-being of children a minimalist new motto: “BE BEST.”
The first lady formally opened her long-awaited initiative after more than a year of reading to children, learning about babies born addicted to drugs and hosting a White House conversation on cyberbullying.
“As a mother and as first lady, it concerns me that in today’s fast-paced and ever-connected world, children can be less prepared to express or manage their emotions and often times turn to forms of destructive or addictive behavior such as bullying, drug addiction or even suicide,” she said.
“I feel strongly that as adults, we can and should ‘be best’ at educating our children about the importance of a healthy and balanced life,” Trump said.
The first lady said early on that she would focus on child well-being. The goal of her public awareness campaign is to encourage parents and other adults to teach children how to be good citizens, including being kind, not bullying on social media or anywhere else, staying away from drugs and taking care of themselves.
The campaign will focus on the issues of well-being, social media and opioid abuse, she said.
Monday’s announcement followed a period of high visibility for a first lady who once had a scant public presence around the White House. Last month, she joined her husband to host the prime minister of Japan at the Trumps’ Florida estate and the president of France at the White House. She also represented the administration at the April funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush.
During nearly 16 months as first lady, Trump demonstrated her interest in children by visiting with young hospital patients in the U.S. and during overseas trips with the president.
Her interest in the opioid drug crisis, developed during the presidential campaign, has taken her to care centers and hospitals in West Virginia and Ohio to learn about the epidemic’s effect on babies born to mothers addicted to the powerful painkillers. She convened a White House roundtable on the issue last fall.