Playing music has long been a way for expectant Massachusetts parents to connect with their children in the womb, but a group of researchers has found evidence it can calm fetal heart rates, potentially providing developmental benefits. In Chaos, by AIP Publishing,...
Anxiety is now the most commonly diagnosed mental health condition among children in Massachusetts, affecting about 11% of kids ages 3 to 17, according to 2022-2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A Growing Problem The numbers have climbed...
For years, falling birth rates have been treated like an abstract statistic. But a new report helps explain what many Massachusetts parents, and would-be parents, already feel deeply: choosing to have children in the U.S. is becoming harder, more expensive, and...
Moving out, landing a job and paying your own bills used to be seen as signs that you made it to adulthood. But a new study suggests that financial independence is arriving much later for many Massachusetts residents. About 72% of Gen Zers — those born between 1997...
Massachusetts millennial parents are no strangers to acronyms. In fact, Millennials and Gen Xers are credited with making "LOL" (laughing out loud) so popular on instant messenger, that it eventually earned a spot in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2011. (Take...
Studies show that couples who share household chores and childcare more equally report lower conflict and higher relationship satisfaction, especially after the birth of a child. Why an Equal Split Matters Research finds that when mothers feel housework and childcare...
There is good news about fatherhood in Massachusetts: dads are more engaged in their kids’ lives than ever, a fact heralded by scholars, advocates, and journalists. The Atlantic writer Derek Thompson saluted dads who “became the parents their fathers never were.”...
A majority of Massachusetts parents with young children do not have the work or childcare arrangements that they want, with their biggest concern being the lack of quality time with their children, according to a new report published by the New Practice Lab at New...
The Massachusetts Office of the Child Advocate reports a “substantial increase in outreach to the OCA’s Complaint Line in recent years,” according to a recently released report. Massive Surge in Calls to OCA Complaint Line The report states that in FY25, “the OCA...
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says that recess isn’t just a break in the school day, it’s just as vital to a child’s development as subjects like math or reading. Their statement comes as schools, especially those focused on boosting standardized test...