Children + Families
‘Why not us?’ Nannies, housekeepers win labor protections in some states
When she first started working as an au pair, Edy Dominguez earned less than the minimum wage and went without paid sick time or overtime pay for extra-long weeks. That’s because domestic workers, including nannies, housekeepers and home health workers, have historically been excluded from the basic labor protections most workers enjoy. “There are standards […]
Vaccines protect your children and others, too
Parents in Virginia who don’t vaccinate their young children, a percentage that’s grown over the past decade, are making a risky bet with their kids’ health – and maybe even their lives. It’s a dangerous trend, perhaps attributable to the bleats of vaccine deniers who elevate misinformation, emotion and quackery over science. Some adults may […]
Youngkin establishes task force to combat negative effects of social media on youth mental health
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Executive Order 43 on Thursday, which enacted a multi-pronged effort to address the impact of social media use on children’s mental health. The order established the Reclaiming Childhood Task Force to counter “addictive” social media use in youth and “create opportunities for cultural change.” The directive came months after the governor […]
Today’s students practice running for their lives
A 6-year-old girl lost one of her white Adidas lace-up sneakers as she and her 21 classmates practiced fleeing for their lives after an imaginary intruder entered their school. The girl’s teacher told her to keep moving without her shoe, then grabbed it herself and gave it back to the girl when the class settled […]
What’s IUI? What’s IVF? A look at the fertility treatments the Walz family is talking about
The broader scope of fertility treatments entered the spotlight last week after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen shared that they had children through a less commonly known procedure. Since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Gov. Walz as her running mate, he has discussed his family’s fertility journey during speeches in Pennsylvania, Nebraska and mostly recently […]
Harris unveils plan to curb price gouging, boost child tax credit, tackle rent hikes
WASHINGTON — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris released her first detailed economic policy proposal Friday, laying out how she’d like to ease rent increases, boost first-time home buyers, end grocery price gouging and bolster the child tax credit. The Harris campaign’s announcement said the proposals, most of which would need approval from Congress, would “address […]
Social media bans could deny teenagers mental health help
Social media’s effects on the mental health of young people are not well understood. That hasn’t stopped Congress, state legislatures, and the U.S. surgeon general from moving ahead with age bans and warning labels for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. But the emphasis on fears about social media may cause policymakers to miss the mental health […]
U.S. Senate fails to advance expanded child tax credit, despite broad House support
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans and two independents blocked a bipartisan tax package Thursday that would have temporarily expanded the child tax credit and revived tax breaks for some business activities. The 48-44 procedural vote to advance the package was largely viewed as a messaging exercise by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer ahead of the August recess and […]
Va. AG Jason Miyares leads 16 states asking Supreme Court to hear parental rights case
Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares is spearheading an amicus brief requesting the U.S. Supreme Court hear a case centered on protecting parental rights to “make decisions concerning the care, custody, and control of their children.” A coalition of 15 other states has joined Miyares on the brief including Alaska, Florida and Texas. If successful, the […]
Why we’re actually fighting over a medical procedure that allows the infertile to have children
There’s no shortage of things to quarrel about these days, yet we keep finding more. Not long ago, in vitro fertilization — the medical process by which human sperm and ovum are united in clinical conditions outside a woman’s body and later implanted, giving the otherwise childless a chance at having a child — would […]
Thousands of children were tested for lead with faulty devices
A company that makes tests for lead poisoning has agreed to resolve criminal charges that it concealed for years a malfunction that resulted in inaccurately low results. It’s the latest in a long-running saga involving Massachusetts-based Magellan Diagnostics, which will pay $42 million in penalties, according to the Department of Justice. While many of the fault-prone […]
A bipartisan push to make air travel easier for new parents packing breast milk and formula
As the summer travel season approaches, new parents may be navigating airports with their babies — and the complexities of keeping them fed. Despite federal guidelines for airport agents laying out how to treat nursing moms, stories about problem encounters with security sometimes go viral. In 2023, actress and singer Keke Palmer said she was at Houston […]