The Counterintuitive School Choice Fight Behind Arizona's Proposition 305
Voters in Arizona will decide whether to move forward with a program that would allow all students to receive public money for private school.
Parents
A Bipartisan Approach to Paid Family Leave
A report authored by researchers from the Brookings Institution and the American Enterprise Institute reviews the options for a national family leave program.
PS Picks: Documenting the Artifice of North Korea in 'Under the Sun'
PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.
Parents Need to Let Their Emotions Out
Holding back tears and pretending to be overjoyed is bad for parents' well-being, according to new research.
People Mostly Inherit What They Think Are Their Parents' Politics
The key word is "think"—people tend to identify with the same political parties they believe their parents do, even if that belief is wrong.
With Nicotine Addiction, It's Like Mother, Like Daughter
A new analysis shows parents have a powerful influence on their children's smoking habits, and nicotine-addicted mothers have a particularly strong effect on their daughters.
Blame Your Parents for Your Crappy Math Skills
New research finds that when parents with math anxieties try to help their kids, their efforts could backfire.
Can a New Parent Remain a Good Friend?
When my friends have kids, they often disappear only to re-emerge with a new clique of fellow parents. For an old friend with no plans for children, are these relationships salvageable?
'Kiss Everybody': Parents' Voicemails Preserve Their Memory in Death
One reporter marvels over how the things he cherishes most about his parents aren’t those that he would have ever imagined.
Dads Don't Speak Parentese
A preliminary study indicates that dads speak in the same tones with kids as they do adults.
The Fight to Decriminalize Truancy in Texas Schools
Should kids be led out of class in handcuffs for being late to school?
America’s Unseen Export: Children, Most of Them Black
The theories and policies that govern American adoptions are out of date. At least until they’re changed—to keep state and private agencies from applying the law in such a way as to prioritize heterosexual couples—you can expect the outgoing adoption industry to continue growing, raising important questions about race and rights.
Majority of Stay-at-Home Dads Aren’t There to Care for Family
A close look at a Pew Social Trends report.
Mothers (and Others) Can Make Good Fathers, Too
It’s time for a less strict and judgmental definition of what makes for a functioning family.
Should We Take Away the Kids of Those Who Are Mentally Ill?
Mindi has never harmed her daughter and is capably raising a son, but authorities took her daughter under a concept sometimes called “predictive neglect.”
Why Are Children Being Separated From Their Families in South Dakota?
On reservations that have been described as “chaos” and “a swirling hell,” child welfare officials could have good intentions, but their efforts are still in clear violation of the Indian Children Welfare Act of 1978.
The Kids Will Be All Right, Even Without the Nuclear Family
Gay, straight, single, divorced: Five studies that prove that the who of family matters a lot less than the how when it comes to raising happy, healthy kids.
Why Do Parents Murder Their Children?
Like everyone else, academics seem a bit mystified. Even Darwin's explanation is kind of weak.
How Parents Shape Their Kids’ Risk Tolerance
A new working paper outlines how mom and dad can influence their child's levels of risk tolerance and trust, traits that have a significant impact on career outcome.
We Still Don't Know Why We Look Like Our Parents
Genetics? Sure, but it's not that simple.
The Kids Really Are All Right: Our Children Have Never Been Safer
The facts say children have never been safer. So why can’t we loosen the leash? Taking stock of parental anxiety on the 30th anniversary of National Missing Children’s Day.
How Social Groups Influence Parents' Decision to Vaccinate
It's not just the family physician offering advice on whether to vaccinate or not. Parents are also turning to friends, family, books, pamphlets, and the Internet for guidance.