As the fall colors start to delight and brighten the hillsides of Vermont and New Hampshire, one cannot help but think about change in the air.

Overall, 2020 has been full of change. From COVID forcing us into our homes and out of our schools, workplaces, restaurants, and parks to issues that have caused many of us to look inward and think about necessary social change with the Black Lives Matter movement and the most recent social awakening to systemic discrimination.

We are now approaching another possible shift for many of us as the November election approaches.

After years of political infighting and increasing divisiveness between political affiliations, many have become disenchanted by the system in general. It often feels, at least for me as a mom and a pediatrician, that there are few ways to make change when the issues are so outsized and widespread. However, I can’t help but look at the kids and families that I care for and also return home to my own family and continue to ponder what the next best step is for making real change.

Kids remind me how important health care policy is for children and families to continue to receive immunizations, well child care, coverage for hospitalizations, and affordable medications. These same children, as they return to school, loading onto buses with masks on, remind me how important schools are for our children’s education and social development as well as for parents in order to return to some level of normalcy. I hear the news of wildfires in the West and as we had some of that haze move in, even over New England, I am reminded of the importance of strong environmental policy in order to preserve our planet for these same future generations.

As a pediatrician, I can’t help but wonder about our children’s future. Many of them are blissfully unaware of the systemic issues that lie ahead and that continue to surround us all. Our most powerful tool, no matter where you stand on the political spectrum, is to vote this November. Vote in the direction that supports your views and values, but please, this November: Vote kids.

(Dr. Atty Moriarty is a New Hampshire pediatrician.)