Dads are supposed to be strong, steady and stoic, given how they’re portrayed in sitcoms and family entertainment.

But in real life, fathers sometimes falter -- and brushing it off can have a devastating impact on their kids’ development, a new study says.

Undiagnosed or unaddressed depression...

Babies and toddlers could be exposed to harmful chemicals while they sleep, due to compounds found in their mattresses, two new studies say.

Air samples taken from 25 children’s bedrooms revealed elevated levels of more than two dozen phthalates, flame retardants and other potentially hazardous chemicals, one of the studies says.

The highest levels of these chemicals were arou...

Fussiness, sleeplessness and unresponsiveness could be some of the earliest signs of autism in a baby, a new study says.

Using these signs, parents might be able to help detect potential autism within a child’s first year of life, researchers reported in the journal Pediatric Research.

That would be a ma...

Children who spend more time playing outdoors or participating in different sports tend to develop better motor skills as they advance through elementary school, a new study says.

Even a half-hour of independent outdoor play after a day at childcare makes a difference in ...

How children respond to movement could provide an early means of detecting autism, a new study says.

Children with autism are known to prefer watching repetitive movements over random movements, researchers said.

Using eye-tracking methods, a research team found that children with suspected ...

Nearly a half-million children could die from AIDS by 2030 if President Donald Trump follows through on plans to cut U.S. relief programs, a new study says.

As many as 1 million additional children will become infected with HIV and nearly 500,000 will die from AIDS by the end of the decade if the ...

Most low-birth-weight toddlers are not on track to be ready to attend school, a new study says.

Only one-third of babies born weighing less than 5.5 pounds are ready to attend school by ages 3 to 5, researchers reported in the journal Academic Pediatrics.

They tend to lag in early learning skills, self-regulation an...

Some women turn to weed during pregnancy to help deal with common issues like nausea, sleep problem and stress.

Unfortunately, they could be endangering their unborn child’s future behavior, a new study says.

Women who use cannabis either during pregnancy or aft...

The COVID-19 pandemic set kindergarteners’ development back in several ways, a new study says.

Post-pandemic kindergarten students on average scored significantly lower in language and thinking skills, social competence, and communication and general knowledge, when compared to pre-pandemic kid...

A mother’s diet during pregnancy can influence her child’s risk of ADHD and autism, a new study says.

In particular, the unhealthy hallmarks of a typical Western diet appeared to increase a child’s risk of developmental disorders, researchers reported in the journal Nature Metabolism.

“The gr...

A parent’s mental health appears to influence their kids’ chances of developing anxiety, ADHD and other behavioral disorders, a new study says.

Children were more than four times as likely to develop severe ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) if their caregiver had poor or fair ment...

FRIDAY, Feb. 21, 2025 (HealthDay news) -- Superhero slugfests and TV tough-guy shootouts might have long-term effects on a preschool boy’s behavior, a new study says.

Boys exposed to violent media between ages 3 and 5 are more likely to develop aggressive and antisoc...

Trauma experienced by the oldest child in a family does not bode well for their younger siblings, new British data suggest.

A child's odds for developing mental health issues rose significantly if their oldest sibling experienced maltreatment, homelessness, injury or other forms of adversity in their first 1,000 days of life, the study found. It was published Feb. 3 in