COVID Kids at Home
The Harvard Graduate School of Education has suggestions for helping your preschooler during the COVID crisis. Listen now to learn more.
Resources
A Guide to COVID-19 and Early Childhood Development (Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University)
Baby-Sized Altruism
A new study, published in Scientific Reports, suggests that infants have the ability to express pint-sized altruism. It points to the idea that infants sense a connection to others, and that they see the benefit in helping other people. Listen now to learn more.
Resources
Babies or Home: A Choice We Shouldn’t Have to Make
As child care costs soar, families have less money to save for home ownership, and for their futures. Things don’t have to be this way. Listen now to learn more.
Resources
Study: High child-care costs are a hurdle for first-time home buyers (The Washington Post)
History of Changes to the Minimum Wage Law (U.S. Dept. of Labor)
Living Wage and How it Compares to the Minimum Wage (The Balance)
Sleep Disparity
There’s a lot more to sleep than meets the eye. Ethnicity and socioeconomic factors play into the quality and amount of sleep that young children get. Listen now to learn more.
Resources
Sleep disparity, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic position (The National Center for Biotechnology Information)
I See You
Do you see your child? Truly see them? Being present and observing our children with real curiosity helps parents to better know who our kids really are.
Resources
Do You Really ‘See’ Your Child? (New York Times Parenting)
Maternal Depression & Parental Leave
The thought of returning to work after giving birth can trigger feelings of depression. After all, who wants to get back to the grind when you’ve got a newborn at home who wants nothing more than your love and attention? Mounting research continues to find connections between maternal depressive symptoms and the length of maternity leave.
Resources
Maternal Health and Wellbeing (New America)
Do Longer Maternity Leaves Affect Maternal Health? (The National Bureau of Economic Research)
The long-run effect of maternity leave benefits on mental health: Evidence from European countries (National Center for Biotechnology Information)
Sage Advice
The Kirwan Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education has made bold recommendations to improve Maryland’s public education system. Maryland Family Network knows that investing in young children offers a significant return on investment. Baltimore’s own Sage Policy Group agrees. Listen now to learn more.
Opioids & Pregnancy
Over the last twenty years the opioid epidemic has exploded across America. From 1999 to 2013, the number of women in the U.S. with an opioid use disorder while giving birth has quadrupled. How we address this crisis affects everyone.
Resources
How States Handle Drug Use During Pregnancy (ProPublica)
When pregnant women who abuse opioids are treated like criminals, their babies suffer (Los Angeles Times)
Criminalizing Pregnancy: Policing Pregnant Women Who Use Drugs in the USA (Amnesty International)
Hiccups, They Do A Baby Good
What’s the deal with hiccups? According to a new study, it just might be babies practicing their breathing. Listen now to learn more.
Resources
Sometimes Bonding Takes Time
Bonding with your newborn doesn’t always come naturally to new moms. For some it is instantaneous, while for others the process takes time. This has nothing to do with your ability to parent. Instead, it has to do with the seismic transition that women go through when becoming mothers. And, it’s quite normal.
Resources
I Didn't Bond With My Baby Right Away (NYT Parenting)
Women's experiences of postnatal distress: a qualitative study (BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth)
Women's experiences of postnatal distress: a qualitative study (BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth)