Children's Health

Orange County Education Board Member On Her Vote For Schools To Reopen Without Masks

4:03pm July 14, 2020

NPR's Sarah McCammon talks with Lisa Sparks, a member of the Orange County, Calif., Board of Education, about why she approves of the plan to reopen public schools without masks or social distancing.

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Teachers Weigh In On Whether Schools Should Reopen This Fall

7:58am July 12, 2020

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro speaks with teachers from around the country about how they feel about public schools reopening in the fall, amid a pandemic and rising infection rates.

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Pediatrician Makes Case For Reopening Schools This Fall

10:28am July 11, 2020

NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Sara Bode, pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, about sending students back to school this fall.

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Spending quality time with kids and listening deeply to them is one way to help them tame anxiety. Here Mariano Noesi and Maryam Jernigan-Noesi play with their 4-year-old son Carter. Jernigan-Noesi is a child psychologist.

Health & Safety

Kids Feel Pandemic Stress Too. Here's How To Help Them Thrive

7:30am July 11, 2020

by Patti Neighmond

For children, the distress shows itself in difficult moods, stomachaches or even regression to behaviors from earlier childhood. Here are seven ideas to help anxious kids feel better.

Children arrive at Hong Kong's Maryknoll Fathers' Primary School on June 8, the first day of classes since the COVID-19 outbreak.

PHOTOS: How Hong Kong Reopened Schools — And Why It Closed Them Again

7:14pm July 10, 2020

by Laurel Chor

Schools were shut when the novel coronavirus first became a concern. Here's how Hong Kong handled re-opening — and now, a second closing due to a spike in cases.

Illustration depicting adults and school-children wearing masks.

Nation's Pediatricians Walk Back Support For In-Person School

4:41pm July 10, 2020

by Anya Kamenetz

In a new statement made jointly with teachers unions, the American Academy of Pediatrics now says "science and community circumstances must guide decision-making."

Health & Safety

Doctors Continue Research Into Rare Inflammatory Syndrome In Children With COVID-19

5:47am July 10, 2020

by Fred Mogul

A tiny subset of children exposed to the coronavirus have later developed a strange new inflammatory syndrome. Most fully recover, yet doctors still want to track them for long-term health problems.

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Florida's education commissioner has ordered the state's schools to reopen for in-person instruction in the fall, subject to the advice and orders from health authorities.

Florida Orders Schools To Reopen In The Fall For In-Person Instruction

6:35pm July 07, 2020

by Laurel Wamsley

The state's largest teachers union says educators want schools to reopen, but the plan lacks detail on safety measures. "There's a lot of angst from teachers across the state," a union official says.

Health & Safety

How Parents And Daycare Centers Can Keep Kids Safe After Reopening

7:53am July 05, 2020

NPR's Scott Detrow speaks to child care consultant Lucy Mullen Davis about the guidelines centers - and parents - are considering before reopening.

Recent protests in Philadelphia and across the country have drawn young people. But for most of the pandemic, youth have been quarantined and away from their social circles, which could make depression and other mental illness worse.

Why Some Young People Fear Social Isolation More Than COVID-19

4:08pm July 04, 2020

by Yuki Noguchi

It's not that young adults aren't worried about the pandemic, psychologists say, but they are at far greater risk of dying by suicide. Finding ways beyond screens to foster social bonds is crucial.