In those days, Taiwan was just starting down the path to educational reform. The new ideas then in circulation got her thinking again and reawakened her long-held doubts about social conventions. Unable to remain on the sidelines any longer, Chen joined the debate over the raising and educating of children, thus taking her first steps on the road to social activism.
往後幾年，當陳來紅成為一名母親，必須面臨孩子教育問題時，正值台灣教育改革初露曙光的七○年代，新思潮衝擊她好思考和質疑社會陋習的性格，使她終於忍不住由切身的親子教養問題出發，而走上訴諸行動的社運之路。