Children's Health

"The biggest gift parents can give their children is the opportunity to make their own decisions," psychologist Holly Schiffrin wrote in the Journal of Child and Family Studies.

A 4-year-old can run errands alone ... and not just on reality TV

8:00am April 20, 2022

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A Japanese TV show now on Netflix, 'Old Enough!,' has sparked much debate about the wisdom of allowing very young kids to be very independent. Risky? Beneficial? Child development experts weigh in.

Regular screening for anxiety in their doctor's office is one way to help kids before their troubles escalate.

Health & Safety

It's time to screen all kids for anxiety, physicians' task force recommends

12:23pm April 17, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

In light of the growing kids' mental health crisis, the group says it's crucial to identify kids who are struggling. The advice doesn't call for suicide screening, which many experts think is needed.

Health & Safety

New CDC survey warns of growing mental health crisis among teens

8:06am April 17, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe asks Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, about a new survey on teen mental health.

Screening kids for anxiety and depression early on could help stop crises, panel says

4:29pm April 15, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

An advisory committee has issued its draft recommendations to screen kids earlier for anxiety and depression. Experts say this will help children get help before things escalate into a crisis.

Teens started dying in greater numbers from fatal drug overdoses in 2020, raising alarm that the trend could continue or worsen.

Teen drug overdose deaths rose sharply in 2020, driven by fentanyl-laced pills

1:19pm April 12, 2022

by Rhitu Chatterjee

While adult overdoses surged in the last decades, teens hadn't seen the same kind of death rates. But now fatal overdoses nearly doubled in one year and continued to rise in 2021.

Child looking out the window on a rainy day.

Health & Safety

A report on violence against kids with disabilities is sobering — if not surprising

8:01am April 12, 2022

by Fran Kritz

Abuse ranges from being struck by a family member to cyberbullying. A study reports that nearly a third of children with disabilities have experienced such violence. And that's surely an undercount.

Texas doctors are worried for their patients losing access to gender-affirming care

4:52pm April 11, 2022

by Wade Goodwyn

Doctors and hospitals in Texas have discontinued gender-affirming care for trans youth. The move has those who do this care worried about their patients.

Rosy, 6, gives COVID tests and vaccines to her stuffed animals. She herself has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, multiple times and never tested positive. What's her secret?

Why hasn't my daughter caught COVID? 2 factors likely protect her — and maybe you too

7:48am April 08, 2022

by Michaeleen Doucleff

My 6-year-old has been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 at least four times and never tested positive. Many people fall into that category. Researchers have theories about why they've been able to ward it off.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Early onset puberty has increased since COVID-19

8:01am April 03, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

Ayesha Rascoe talks to pediatrician Adiaha Spinks-Franklin, of Texas Children's Hospital, about the risks of early onset puberty and its complicated relationship with COVID-19.

The youth treatment industry booms in Utah, but has skirted reform for years

8:28am March 27, 2022

by Ayesha Rascoe

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe asks Salt Lake Tribune reporter and "Sent Away" podcast cohost Jessica Miller about lax regulation of Utah's youth treatment industry and the impact of recent reforms.