4 in 5 toddler foods are ultraprocessed
A new analysis of nearly 2,800 grocery store products marketed to toddlers has found that the vast majority fall short of basic nutrition standards, raising fresh concerns about what young children are eating during a critical stage of brain development. The research, presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition, […]
Why grandparents matter more than ever for children’s mental health
Grandparents may play a far more important role in children’s emotional development than modern family life tends to acknowledge. With a large share of American teenagers reporting ongoing sadness or hopelessness, one child psychologist believes the decline of extended family involvement has quietly contributed to what public health officials have described as an ongoing crisis […]
Parenthood used to feel inevitable — Here is what changed
More couples want children than you think — but something is quietly talking them out of it. The word ‘parenthood’ used to carry a kind of inevitability. For most couples, the question was never really if — it was when. That quiet assumption has been slowly dissolving for years, and now it is evaporating fast. […]
A parent’s guide to caring for kids with eczema starts with understanding what you are dealing with
Eczema is one of the most common skin conditions in children, and for many families it arrives without warning and without a clear explanation. Experts believe the causes are likely a combination of genetic and environmental factors, with the skin barrier and the immune system both playing central roles in how the condition develops and […]
Kids who get smartphones too young face three serious health risks according to new research
A new study is adding serious scientific weight to a worry most parents already carry quietly. Researchers examining the health of more than 10,600 adolescents found that children who owned a smartphone by age 12 were meaningfully more likely to experience depression, obesity and inadequate sleep compared to peers their age who did not yet […]
Kids need far more sleep than most parents realize and the gap is growing
Most parents think about their children’s rest more than they might expect. A new National Sleep Foundation poll found that nearly three quarters of caregivers think about their children’s sleep every single day, with some spending upward of two hours a day mentally occupied by the subject. And yet nearly half of American children are […]
Kids’ mental health deserves the same urgency as physical health
Kids are not just dealing with scraped knees and ear infections anymore. According to a sweeping new report released just ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month, children across the country are facing a mental and emotional health crisis that has been building for decades and has now reached a point that medical professionals can no […]
Teenager mental health struggles look different depending on where they grow up
Teenager wellbeing is influenced by far more than what happens inside the home. Where a young person grows up, whether in a dense urban neighborhood or a quiet rural community, can shape the pressures they face, the resources available to them, and the way their mental health struggles ultimately show up. For parents trying to […]
Sunlight exposure via windows risks infant dehydration and puts newborns in unexpected danger
It is one of the most common pieces of informal advice new parents receive: if your baby has jaundice, put them near a sunny window. It sounds gentle, natural, and harmless. But a new study is pushing back on that practice firmly, finding that sunlight passing through home windows exposes newborns to radiation levels that […]
13 painful signs your kid doesn’t feel safe talking to you
Most parents want nothing more than a child who feels comfortable sharing what is going on in their life. Yet getting kids to actually open up can feel like an uphill battle, and many parents are left wondering what they are doing wrong. According to therapists, the issue often comes down to emotional safety. Children […]