Mental Health
Science Shows How to Protect Kids’ Mental Health, but It’s Being Ignored
Yes, the COVID pandemic has made the problem worse. But our teens were in trouble long before that
"Parenting"
Mental Health
Your Kid Is Probably Not an ‘Orchid’ or a ‘Dandelion’—But Could Be Both
Most children have a unique profile of both sensitivity and resilience to outside pressures, responding with different degrees of vulnerability to difficult or beneficial circumstances
Culture
Nonfiction Is Cool, and Our Kids Know It
Changes in publishing have altered this genre for the better, so put some books on your holiday list
Reproduction
A Timeline of How Abortion Laws Could Affect Pregnancy Decisions
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade in a Mississippi abortion case, numerous state laws will interfere with key biological and social decisions during pregnancy
Reproduction
California Plans for a Post-Roe World as Abortion Access Shrinks Elsewhere
Abortion providers are preparing for a surge in demand from other states if the Supreme Court overturns the landmark ruling
Sociology
The Pandemic Caused a Baby Bust, Not a Boom
Birth rates in many high-income countries declined in the months following the first wave, possibly because of economic uncertainty
Mind & Brain
For Parents of Young Athletes, 8 Steps to Protect Your Child's Brain
When I was kid, I remember my dad scolding my brother and me when one of us decided to hold the other one upside-down. In that position, he reasoned, we could fall on our head.
Cognition
Children Reason Differently from Adults [Video]
// Editor's note: Brain Basics from Scientific American Mind is a series of short video primers on the brain and how we feel, think and act.
First-born Girls Most Likely to Succeed
Bossy, know-it-all older sisters everywhere now have something else to lord over their younger siblings: Researchers have found that firstborn girls are the most ambitious and successful children in their families...
The Power of Dad in Shaping Childrens' Lives
In the 1994 film Junior, a male scientist becomes pregnant and gives birth to a baby girl. It's a rather ridiculous tale, but if any man could be given the superpower of giving birth, my dad should have been the one...
Mind & Brain
Calming a Child's Mind
New techniques help kids develop healthy behaviors and lasting resilience
Mind & Brain
New Strategies to Calm a Child's Mind
The essential guide to improving kid behavior and resilience
Biology
Are Men the Weaker Sex?
Contrary to cultural assumptions that boys are stronger and sturdier, basic biological weaknesses are built into the male of our species. These frailties leave them more vulnerable than girls to life’s hazards, including environmental pollutants such as insecticides, lead and plasticizers...
Mind & Brain
A Happy Life May Not Be a Meaningful Life
Tasks that seem mundane, or even difficult, can bring a sense of meaning over time
Who Needs Stimulants for ADHD?
In 1970, 150,000 U.S. children were taking stimulant medications. By 2007, that number had risen to 2.7 million, according to pediatrician Sanford Newmark of the University of California, San Francisco...
How To Coach Parents [Audio]
Most moms and dads are not taught how to parent. We are supposed to just know what to do, I suppose. But even if you have a relatively calm and obedient child, moments inevitably arise when you could really use an owners manual...
Teen Builds Gateway to the Brain for Girls
The Synapse Project “encourages young women to enter the field of neuroscience through information and mentorship,” according to its website.
New iPhone App Helps Parents Get the Right Vaccine Information
When I was pregnant with my daughter in 2007/2008, the anti-vaccine movement was strong and hadn’t been fully debunked. My daily – hourly – thoughts revolved around the fear of a C-section...
New iPhone App Helps Parents Get the Right Vaccine Information
When I was pregnant with my daughter in 2007/2008, the anti-vaccine movement was strong and hadn’t been fully debunked. My daily – hourly – thoughts revolved around the fear of a C-section...
Dana’s Super-Awesome Mount St. Helens Field Trip Guide I: Hoffstadt or Bust
Something has been sitting in my craw for a while since reading that clickbait “manifesto” on how people who put their kids in private school are bad people.
