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 […]
Half of kids under 6 have nightmares

Nightmares are a familiar part of childhood, but for many families, they go beyond the occasional bad dream. Research suggests that nearly half of children under age six experience frequent nightmares, often leading to disrupted sleep and increased anxiety. While nightmares are typically considered a normal developmental phase, repeated episodes can begin to affect a […]
Female veterans showed remarkable strength at home while quietly falling apart everywhere else

Female veterans entered the COVID-19 pandemic already carrying a heavier load than their male counterparts. What the pandemic did was make that load visible in the data in ways that are difficult to dismiss. A new study tracking post-9/11 veterans over more than six years has found that women experienced significantly steeper declines in well-being […]
New dads are 30% more likely to struggle with depression

When a baby arrives, the conversation around mental health almost always centers on the mother and for very good reason. Giving birth is a physically and emotionally demanding experience, and the weeks that follow bring enormous adjustment. But a growing body of research is making one thing increasingly clear: fathers are struggling too, and the […]
Why polio is back in the headlines and what parents actually need to know

For most parents in the United States, polio belongs to another era. It is the kind of disease associated with old black-and-white photographs and iron lungs, something that medicine solved long before their children were born. So when polio appears in a headline in 2025, the natural reaction is confusion followed quickly by concern. The […]
Adventurous play powerfully reduces kids anxiety

A neurologist’s post on X has reignited a conversation about how children play and what happens to their mental health when they do not get enough of the right kind. Dr. Dominic Ng, a neuroscientist at the University of Edinburgh, drew widespread attention after sharing findings from a 2023 study published in The Lancet, one […]
5 signs of disorganized attachment that most parents quietly miss

The bond between a parent and child is the emotional blueprint for everything that comes after. It shapes how children learn to trust, how they handle conflict, and how they relate to others well into adulthood. When that bond develops in a healthy, secure way, children tend to carry that sense of safety with them […]