Parenting News

February 25, 2025

Top Headlines

Child ADHD Risk Linked to Mother's Use of Acetaminophen

Feb. 20, 2025 — Fetal acetaminophen exposure increases the likelihood that a child will develop attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a new ...

Another Way Longer Paternity Leaves Help New Parents

Feb. 20, 2025 — A longer paternity leave after the birth of a child can improve the co-parenting relationship between moms and dads in a key way, a new study finds. Researchers found that mothers were less likely to discourage fathers' involvement in parenting if ...

Promising Results from First Prenatal Therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Feb. 19, 2025 — Scientists report results from a promising new approach to treat the rare neurodegenerative ...

Lack of Discussion Drives Traditional Gender Roles in Parenthood

Feb. 13, 2025 — Conversations about parental duties continue to be led by mothers, even if both parents earn the same amount of money, finds a new ...

Latest Headlines

updated 11:00pm EST

Group Childcare Positively Affects Toddler Development

Feb. 13, 2025 — Many Japanese mothers are reluctant to send their children to childcare before the age of three due to the 'Three-Year-Old Myth,' which suggests that healthy development requires a child to stay at ...

Postpartum Depression Discovery Opens Door to Blood Test, Earlier Treatment

Feb. 13, 2025 — New postpartum depression findings could lead to a blood test to identify women at risk and possibly even to a preventive ...

More Sunshine as a Baby Linked to Less Disease Activity for Children With MS

Feb. 12, 2025 — Getting at least 30 minutes of daily summer sun in the first year of life may mean a lower relapse risk for children who are diagnosed with multiple ...

A Familiar Face at Childbirth Makes a Difference

Feb. 3, 2025 — A new study finds that pregnant individuals who were unable to have their desired emotional support persons present during childbirth were more likely to have higher levels of perceived childbirth ...

Maternal Stress During Pregnancy Could Leave Traces in the Placenta That Could Affect the Baby's Development

Feb. 4, 2025 — Maternal stress could leave epigenetic imprints on genes in the placenta associated with cortisol -- a necessary hormone for fetal development -- and ...

No Evidence That Maternal Sickness During Pregnancy Causes Autism, Study Finds

Jan. 31, 2025 — While many studies have reported a link between a mother's health condition during pregnancy and her child's risk of autism, a new study shows that ...

Guided Self-Help Makes Treating Children With Obesity Easier and More Affordable

Jan. 29, 2025 — According to a new study, self-guided family therapy for obesity could work just as well as traditional approaches at a fraction of the ...

Innovative One-Minute Video Game Boasts 80% Success Rate in Diagnosing Autism

Jan. 28, 2025 — A new one-minute video game is able to accurately and efficiently identify children with autism from those who have ADHD or are ...

Preterm Babies Receive Insufficient Pain Management: Study

Jan. 27, 2025 — A large proportion of babies born very early need intensive care, which can be painful. But the healthcare system fails to provide pain relief to the full extent. This is shown by the largest survey ...

Signposting Children to Weight Management Services Could Happen When Parents Attend an Adult Program

Jan. 21, 2025 — Parents attending an adult weight management program, who were worried about their child's weight, would accept support and signposting to services ...

COVID Lockdowns Disrupted a Crucial Social Skill Among Preschoolers, Trailblazing Study Finds

Jan. 29, 2025 — Researchers discovered children ages 3 to 5 tested before and after COVID lockdowns had a significant gap in a key cognitive skill, particularly for children from homes with low financial resources ...

Violence on TV: What Happens to Children Who Watch?

Jan. 20, 2025 — Boys exposed to violent screen content in the preschool years were more likely to become antisocial and violent themselves a decade later, in their mid-teens, a new study ...

Do Parents Really Have a Favorite Child? Here's What New Research Says

Jan. 16, 2025 — A new study found that younger siblings generally receive more favorable treatment from parents. Meanwhile, older siblings are often granted more autonomy, and parents are less controlling towards ...

Multilingualism Improves Crucial Cognitive Functions in Autistic Children, Study Finds

Jan. 3, 2025 — A new study adds to the growing body of evidence on the cognitive benefits of speaking multiple languages, finding that multilingualism not only enhances general cognitive abilities but also may help ...

App Helps Alleviate Mental Health Symptoms in Bereaved Parents

Dec. 18, 2024 — A new study shows that an app can help parents who are mourning the loss of a child. Parents who used the app for three months reported reduced symptoms of prolonged grief and post-traumatic stress, ...

Heart Rate Activity Influences When Infants Speak

Dec. 17, 2024 — A psychologist found that a baby's first sweet sounds and early attempts at forming words are directly linked to the baby's heart ...

Almost Three Quarters of Adolescents Experience Depression or Anxiety

Dec. 17, 2024 — Almost three quarters of adolescents in Australia experience clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms, with most being chronic, according to a new study. And preventive strategies ...

Teens With a Reduced Response to Rewards Are More Susceptible to Depression

Dec. 17, 2024 — Novel research shows that a reduced neural response to receiving rewards in teens predicts the first onset of depression, but not anxiety or suicidality. This is independent of pre-existing ...

Naughty or Nice? Many Parents Rely on Threats to Manage Misbehavior -- From No Dessert to No Santa

Dec. 16, 2024 — When young children's behavior becomes challenging, many parents resort to threats -- from taking away toys to threatening that Santa will skip their house, a national poll ...

Mothers Bear the Brunt of the 'Mental Load,' Managing 7 in 10 Household Tasks

Dec. 12, 2024 — The study, conducted in the US, found that mothers take on seven in ten (71%) of all household mental load ...

Antidepressants May Act in Gut to Reduce Depression and Anxiety

Dec. 11, 2024 — In animal studies, boosting serotonin in the cells that line the gut reduced anxious and depressive-like behaviors without causing cognitive or gastrointestinal side ...

Mothers' Language Choices Have Double the Impact in Bilingual Families

Dec. 10, 2024 — New research shows that mothers have twice the impact on language exposure, challenging traditional parenting advice. In a new study, researchers found that there wasn't a single strategy that ...

Researchers 'See' Vulnerability to Gaming Addiction in the Adolescent Brain

Dec. 9, 2024 — Researchers found that adolescents with more symptoms of gaming addiction showed lower brain activity in the region involved in decision-making and reward processing; this blunted response to reward ...

Perceptions of Parent Cannabis Use Shape Teen Attitudes

Dec. 4, 2024 — Teens who think their parents use cannabis are more likely to hold favorable attitudes toward the drug and to consider trying it themselves, according to a new study. The research also reveals that ...

Preschool Education: A Key to Supporting Allophone Children

Nov. 28, 2024 — A Canadian study reveals that allophone children often face learning and communication difficulties in kindergarten, which can negatively impact their educational ...

Newer Epilepsy Medications Used During Pregnancy Do Not Affect Neurological Development in Children

Nov. 27, 2024 — Children of mothers who took certain anti-seizure medications while pregnant do not have worse neurodevelopmental outcomes at age 6, according to a long-running ...

Language Used by Mothers Affects Oxytocin Levels of Infants

Nov. 25, 2024 — Infants whose mothers regularly use language to describe what their child is thinking or feeling, have higher levels of the hormone oxytocin, finds a new ...

Beyond Screen Time: Complex Factors Shaping Child Development

Nov. 25, 2024 — New research challenges views on screen time, revealing factors such as parental mental health and the type of screen being used may have some impact on child ...

Need a Landing Pad for Helicopter Parenting? Frame Tasks as Learning

Nov. 22, 2024 — Parents are much less likely to intervene when their young children are getting dressed or performing other simple chores if those tasks are framed as learning opportunities, according to a new ...

Snoring Linked to Behavioral Problems in Adolescents Without Declines in Cognition

Nov. 21, 2024 — Adolescents who snore frequently were more likely to exhibit behavior problems such as inattention, rule-breaking, and aggression, but they do not have any decline in their cognitive abilities, ...