Pandemic spotlights problems with the child care industry
NPR's Michel Martin speaks with daycare owner Brenda Hawkins about the childcare industry and what it's like to be a childcare provider during this difficult time.
Children's Health
Parents of children under 5 are waiting for COVID-19 guidance
Public health experts have been urging Americans for months to get vaccinated and tested for COVID-19. But the options for children under 5 are limited. Parents long for more support and guidance.
School are scrambling to stay open through omicron, and teachers are exhausted
Schools are struggling to stay open in the omicron wave. Teachers say they're scrambling, again, to try to help students and still protect their own mental and physical health.
After 2 years, growing calls to take masks off children in school
While issues around masking remain polarized, there are growing calls for a post-omicron off-ramp for kids and masks.
A school principal's blunt warning: We can't pretend the pandemic is over
Principal Seth Lavin says even after the omicron surge ends, the crisis for children will continue.
A Chicago principal on challenges facing schools right now
NPR's Asma Khalid talks with Principal Seth Lavin on how COVID-19 has impacted his Chicago school. The school district canceled class for 5 days in January when teachers protested working conditions.
Vaccinate and test. That advice isn't much help to parents who have kids under 5.
Parents of children too young for vaccines are exhausted. As omicron surges, they keep trying to protect their kids. But some feel isolated and even forgotten by those who just want to move on.
There's one population that gets overlooked by an 'everyone will get COVID' mentality
The roughly 7 million Americans who are immunocompromised — including many people with disabilities — live with much higher risk of COVID-19, and near-constant vigilance.
As schools debate COVID safety, students stage walkouts to voice demands
NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Ian McNeely, a Maryland high school student who helped organize a walkout calling for better COVID safety measures at his school.
How to talk to vaccine doubters: 5 tips for parent 'ambassadors'
A health communications expert has developed a free online course to help people talk to those who are vaccine hesitant — and to fight misinformation with empathy.