My friend Julia is so excited. She is five months pregnant with her first child. She is a professional woman who at 41 years of age has to shift the focus from her job as a television producer to being a mom. Suddenly, putting together a network TV show is a piece of cake compared with the prospect of raising a child. With a Colombian mother and a Cuban father, her little boy will be bilingual and bicultural, and part of the fastest- 
growing sector of the U.S. population.

Latinas in the United States have a big job on their hands, and a huge responsibility on their shoulders: to raise the future leaders of this country. They have to educate them, look out for their well-being, give them a moral base, make sure they are well-centered, productive members of our society, keep them safe and prepare them for the many challenges they will face in an increasingly complex world. When you consider the challenges these women face in the process, the mission can be daunting.

While many studies have been conducted on the socio-economic impact of the growth of Hispanics in communities and schools across the country -- Latinos are projected to become 30 percent of the population by the year 2050 -- for the first time, a study has been done specifically on Hispanic mothers in the U.S. of children 5 years of age and under.

The Census Bureau reported last year that about one in four children under the age of 5 in the U.S. were of Hispanic origin. In California and New Mexico, more than half of kids under 5 are Hispanic, and in Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, they represent about a third of the young population. A great majority of these kids are U.S. citizens born to immigrant mothers living in low-income households and with limited knowledge of the English language.

Conducted by Todobebe, Inc., a media company dedicated to parenting, with input from health institutions such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Minority Health, National Head Start Association and the March of Dimes, the survey attempts to identify how the conditions in which Hispanic kids are being raised affects their physical and mental development.

Here are some of the key findings. When it comes to health care, 58 percent of the moms said that they did not have health insurance because it was too expensive. Fifty-nine percent said they use a free or low-cost clinic for their health care. Half of the women in the survey said they had not gone to the doctor because of the high cost, while only 10 percent had not taken their child for the same reason. Although the selflessness of these women is admirable in putting their children before themselves, it is worrisome because in so many cases, they are single mothers and the sole providers for their children, and they need to take care of themselves in order to take care of their kids.

When it comes to their eating habits, 60 percent of the moms said they eat at least one meal a day together as a family. Not surprisingly, since food is such an important part of the Latin culture, 78 percent of the moms in the survey said the most challenging part of cooking for their family is making healthy meals that they will like.

Other interesting findings had to do with their upbringing. For example, almost eight out of 10 Latino kids under 5 are not enrolled in preschool, making the mothers the main source of their early development. A quarter of these children begin watching TV at 6 months old, and most watch one to two hours per day. (Surely my friend Julia's child will be watching the shows his mom produces.) A great majority -- 94 percent -- of mothers said they read to their children; 46 percent read to them in both English and Spanish.

The data collected in Todobebe's survey is very valuable to those government agencies, learning institutions and health-care providers responsible for overseeing the well-being of our population. In less than 20 years, the children of the mothers in the study will be going into the work force; they will be on their way to becoming the movers and shakers of our society. The future of our country will be in their hands, and for now their development is in the hands of their mothers. Understanding the responsibilities and challenges of Latino mothers is key to making sure both moms and kids are provided with the tools and opportunities they need to succeed.

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(Maria Elena Salinas is the author of “I AM MY FATHER'S DAUGHTER: LIVING A LIFE WITHOUT SECRETS.” Reach her at www .mariaesalinas.com)

© 2009 by Maria Elena Salinas

Distributed by King Features Syndicate