From the department of incipient urban legends comes a press release from the L.A. County Sheriff, warning that officers have seized medical marijuana products “packaged to resemble licensed commercial candy and snacks” and that …
Childhood
Little Women: When Puberty Starts Too Soon
It’s never easy to be 13 — especially when you’re actually only eight. If there was one good thing about the unavoidable storms of puberty, it was that you could at least predict when they’d come. After 11 or 12 years of a …
The Spillover Effect: Beware the Explosive Teen
There’s only one thing harder than living in a home with an adolescent — and that’s being an adolescent. The moodiness, the volatility, the wholesale lack of impulse control, all would be close to clinical conditions if they …
How a Mother’s Love May Counter the Negative Health Effects of Poverty
Being raised in poverty can have lifelong negative effects on children’s health, increasing their risk of chronic disease in adulthood. But new research suggests one factor that may help protect poor kids from later illness: …
High Marks for Home Schooling, a Small Study Finds
In some cases, home schooling may give kids a leg up on their public-school peers, finds a small, new study published in the Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science.
What Makes Some Preschools Better Than Others?
It might seem like preschool is all about naps and playtime, but the latest research shows that early classroom experiences can have a major impact on later learning and academic performance, especially when it comes to language.
Go Ahead, Let Your Kids Climb into Bed With Mom and Dad
Parents who share a bed with their child can sleep better in light of new research in the journal Pediatrics that finds the practice doesn’t give rise to learning or behavior problems.
Talking to Strangers? Rewriting the Rules of Childhood
Long before Leiby Kletzky was gruesomely murdered in Brooklyn after the lost 8-year-old asked a man he didn’t know for help earlier this month, I made sure my three kids knew my cell phone number by heart. Even the 4-year-old …
Why States Should Think Twice About ‘Caylee’s Law’
With Casey Anthony having been found not guilty of the murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, outraged Americans are seeking other routes to justice and hoping to prevent similar cases.
Is TV Teaching Kids to Value Fame Above All?
Is fame more important to tweens than it used to be? A new study suggests that young kids of this decade are vastly more familiar with and are more likely to value individualistic personality traits like fame, achievement and …
TV, Video Games at Night May Cause Sleep Problems in Kids
Watching television or playing video games close to bedtime can act like a jolt of caffeine to young children, making them more likely to experience difficulty falling asleep, nightmares, and daytime fatigue, a new study in the …
Study: Portable Kiddie Pools Kill a Child Every Five Days
Colorful kiddie pools look innocuous enough, but a new study finds that a child drowns in an inflatable, portable pool every five days in warm-weather months.
For Little Girls, Kate Middleton Pales Next to Pretend Princesses
Little girls love princesses. With royal wedding coverage everywhere — TIME.com alone had more than 10 related stories on Friday morning’s homepage — it would seem the perfect opportunity for diminutive ladies-in-waiting to …
