Dea Wright Is Working To Make Small Moments Big for Milwaukee’s Parents and Their Kids

Dea Wright has some advice for parents of young children: “Let them spill milk.”

Wright, director and sole employee of the city of Milwaukee’s Office of Early Childhood Initiatives , believes that if we let kids make little decisions now, the experience will help them build the ability to make bigger and better decisions later.

Since 2018, Wright, a mother of five herself, has guided the office’s mission to support the social and emotional development and cognitive growth of Milwaukee’s youngest residents – from birth to 3 years old.

“The more I interact with families, I have found we all have a lot of the same problems, especially when it comes to raising children,” she says. “You can never assume or judge, looking for a one-size-fits-all.”

Much of Wright’s work with OECI has includ