PARENTING

The head of the Food and Drug Administration is facing congressional lawmakers for the first time over the national shortage of baby formula, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

It’s the prevailing American child-rearing model across class lines. But there’s a better way.

We should really be celebrating our moms all the time, but especially on Mother’s Day, it’s more important than ever.

With Mother’s Day quickly approaching, you might be scrambling for a gift idea: And we all know the usuals. Flowers, gift cards, maybe a cute purse or a trip to her local nail salon.

Whether your family just welcomed a baby, or your partner is about to give birth, it's safe to say that it's a really exciting time for everyone involved. Infants are snuggly and sweet, they have that classic new-baby scent and bringing home your first child is definitely a little surreal, in a good way!

When it comes to Mother’s Day, it makes sense that you might think about your own mom -- or the maternal figure in your life, whether that’s an aunt, grandma, or any special woman who has made a difference for you, personally.

Moms -- aren’t they just the best?

A trend that seems to be sweeping the internet the past few Easter seasons is naturally dyed eggs.

Whether you’re just a road trip away from Chicago, you go there on business every so often, or you’d love to visit someday, it’s truly a fantastic city, with so much to offer.

We'll bet you never thought the words "Disney" and "cheap" could go in the same sentence. Well, guess again.

In honor of what would have been Dr. Seuss' 115th birthday, we're sharing some of his best lines from his very best work.

There is nothing cuter than little-kid artwork, is there?

If your children have access to technology and social media, it’s important to provide them with tools to proactively keep them safe online.

If you welcomed a new bundle of joy in 2021, you likely did a little research whilst attempting to pick your favorite name.

As an adult, by my late 20s, I started to feel a little bit “meh” about Christmas. Sure, it was a nice time of year, and I enjoyed seeing my family when I could, but I didn’t really understand the appeal of decorating, baking or most holiday-themed events. All of that changed, however, once I got into my 30s and had kids.

In this day and age, it’s impossible for our kids to be offline.

This dad is a super fun “follow,” if you’re looking to add to your social media lists! He’s funny, smart, and his posts will make you think.

There's no shortage of parenting styles these days. But according to parenting expert Amy McCready, "positive parenting" is one of the most effective. Here's why psychologists agree — and how it works.

Whether you love the idea in general or you think it'd be cute for Facebook or your next family photo session, we're here to provide some inspiration

Saturday marks National Adoption Day, so with that in mind, we’d love to see your pictures.

The all-new Peppa Pig Theme Park will open as a certified autism center, leaders announced Tuesday at the IAAPA Expo at the Orange County Convention Center.

BabyCenter has released the 100 most popular names of 2021 with Olivia and Liam topping the list.

Last summer, we asked: “Are you or your partner pregnant -- or have you delivered in the past few months?” ... “We want to hear from you.”

Mental load: Are you familiar with that term?

I’m not always the best “get on the floor and play” kind of mom, but any time one of my kids wants to bring me a book, I’ll drop what I’m doing in favor of some cuddles and reading time.

Getting dinner on the table at a reasonable hour can be a challenge, but those who have Instant Pots know that dinner can be done in 30 minutes or less with this trendy cooking machine.

The first day of school is hard, but one 8-year-old boy helped his classmate with autism, who was having a particularly hard time.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases and the Delta variant, many parents of school-aged children, especially those who are too young to be vaccinated, are pleading for a virtual learning option.

If you’re a new mother or an expecting mom-to-be, you don’t need another news article telling you about all the benefits of breastfeeding and breastmilk.

It’s one thing to be a new mom: Unpredictable, frazzled, busy; you’re trying to get to know your baby, heal your body and maybe even breastfeed, which can be unfamiliar and challenging, especially at first.

A new study found that physical punishment, like spanking, doesn’t yield positive results in children and is more likely to worsen their behavior over time.

It’s quite a daunting task, to ready yourself for a severe weather situation when you have a new baby in tow.

Beech-Nut Nutrition, a baby food maker, voluntarily recalled for one lot of Beech-Nut Stage 1, Single Grain Rice Cereal after finding high arsenic levels.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a major new federal safety standard aimed to provide a more protective environment for infants using products marketed or intended for sleep.

Get ready, parents – diapers are about to get even more expensive.

No one ever thinks it will happen to them, but a record 53 children died of heatstroke between 2018 and 2019, after being left in a vehicle.

No one ever thinks it will happen to them, but a record 53 children died of heatstroke between 2018 and 2019, after being left in a vehicle.

Author and columnist, Amy Klein, details her struggles to try to get pregnant in her successful New York Times “Fertility Diary” column.

The number of children living with their mother only has doubled in the past 50 years in the United States, according to the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey.

There’s a new friend in the neighborhood!“ Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood,” that is.

For fans of Julia, the 4-year-old Muppet with autism on “Sesame Street,” you are in luck.

Did you realize that as early as 3 years old, kids are classifying people based on their appearances?

A congressional report published by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy on Thursday revealed finding toxic heavy metals in baby foods. According to the report, investigators found that some baby foods contained dangerous levels of heavy metals that could “endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function.”The committee’s investigation, led by Democratic Chairman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, found that leading baby foods including Gerber, HappyBaby and Plum Organics, contained dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury. The subcommittee’s staff report found that these manufacturers knowingly sell baby food containing high levels of toxic heavy metals,” Krishnamoorthi wrote in a statement, according to Fox. AdAccording to the report, the significant levels of toxic heavy metals can cause “permanent decreases in IQ, diminished future economic productivity, and increased risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children. Toxic heavy metals endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function.”Click here to read the entire congressional report.

Are you anticipating your intellectual, ambitious firstborn child will become a doctor or your youngest will pursue an artistic occupation? These common expectations of people’s career choice being influenced by their birth order may have been overestimated in previous research, according to a new study by a University of Houston researcher. According to two dominant models, the links between birth order and careers are explained differently. The niche-finding model proposes personality traits should explain such links whereas the confluence model points to intelligence. “Our findings suggest that the role of birth order on career types, occupational creativity and status attainment might have been overestimated in previous research, and the only finding that replicated previous research was a small effect of birth order on educational attainment,” Damian said.

Let's get the Elf on the Shelf to work for us this year (and hopefully every year moving forward).

Having a baby, and bringing that baby home from the hospital for the first time as a new parent, is a whirlwind.

That’s what happened to Ms. Davis, who didn’t want her full identity revealed, Sunday at 9:30 p.m. the Westpark Tollway and Grand Parkway interchange in Fort Bend County near Cinco Ranch. “It frightened him, He was crying, he was hysterical.”After stopping her vehicle, Davis and her husband grabbed the little boy and placed him inside their vehicle -- even as other cars continued to drive by at normal speeds. Davis said she is thankful she was there to help and thankful he was reunited with his mother. “Because I didn’t sleep because I was like, ‘What if they just dropped this kid off?’ I was thinking some of everything.”CPS was called to the ER where the boy was determined to be in good health. CPS released the child to the mother pending its open investigation for neglectful supervision.

HOUSTON – Who qualifies as a special education student? Grace Jester, 17, looks like any other Cypress Ranch High School student. “I want Cy-Fair to designate Grace as a special education student,” said Steve Jester, Grace’s dad. But so far Cy-Fair ISD has refused to grant the “special education” designation. The Texas Education Agency has resources for parents who have questions about the Special Education Program in Texas.

HOUSTON – Thousands of students at Houston Independent School District will receive books through country music star Dolly Parton’s foundation. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a gift program that gives free books to children from birth to age 5, will provide books to up to 5,000 children in Houston. The program called “Book of the Month” will provide children in Houston access to books by mail. Children will receive a book every month until the child turns 5 years old. A drive-through sign up event will be held at Sherman Elementary School on Wednesday, where parents can sign up for the book program.

Oh, baby... baby... baby...After being told by a doctor that they would be unable to have children, a Pittsburgh couple is now expecting triplets in a rare double pregnancy, according to a Because of Them We Can (BOTWC) blog. “Last year, my doctors told me that I wouldn’t be able to have kids and would need surgery,” Dee wrote on Instagram. “But God said otherwise and gave us three healthy babies along with a completely healthy mother!”The parents-to-be are experiencing superfetation, an instance in which a second, new pregnancy can occur during an initial pregnancy, Healthline Parenthood explains. Despite the high-risk nature of the pregnancy, the expecting parents are hopeful of a healthy delivery. “We are believing that all three of our babies will be healthy, equal in size, and have no complications," Dee wrote on Instagram.

HOUSTON After the Houston Zoo announced its reopening date Tuesday, Houstonians flooded its website to book tickets, leaving the system overwhelmed Wednesday, the zoo wrote on Facebook. Online reservations were opened up Wednesday but the zoo said it quickly became overwhelmed by interested guests looking to make reservations. RELATED: These are the new protocols and procedures for you to follow once the Houston Zoo reopensHouston, you broke the internet!" the zoo wrote. We know you love us, but we didnt know you loved us THIS much.The zoo went on to write that was receiving 10,000 ticket requests per minute and the ticketing system became overwhelmed.

HOUSTON As the 2019-2020 school year comes to an end, parents want to know how their local school district plans to educate children in the fall. Channel 2 Investigates sent a poll to more than 140 school districts in 20 area counties to find out what are the plans for instruction. Channel 2 Investigates created a spreadsheet that lays out each districts plans. Channel 2 Investigates Robert Arnold spoke with dozens of school superintendents about whats in store for students and the challenges of education in a world with COVID-19. Watch it below:Earlier in the week, Channel 2 Investigates organized a virtual town hall meeting with more than one dozen superintendents from school districts large and small; urban and rural.

HOUSTON Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that 38 city of Houston swimming pools, 27 splash pads will remain closed during Memorial Day weekend. He also asked the director Houston Parks and Recreation Department, Steve Wright, to keep all the swimming pools closed this summer. The #MemorialDay weekend traditionally marks the opening of 38 city of Houston swimming pools. Because of the health crisis this year, I have asked @HPARD Director Steve Wright to keep the swimming pools closed this summer. Sylvester Turner (@SylvesterTurner) May 21, 2020Turner said its hard to make sure people are social distancing at public pools.

(CNN) Kids who may have multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a troubling complication of Covid-19 infection, need immediate attention and will probably need to be hospitalized, doctors said Tuesday. The syndrome appears to develop two to six weeks after infection with Covid-19 and affects mostly children who were perfectly healthy beforehand. Blood tests will quickly tell doctors if children might be experiencing MIS-C, Levin said. Tests for inflammation and heart damage can show if children are at risk and need to be hospitalized. Quick treatment appears to work and most children go home after a few days in the hospital, both Schneider and Levin said.

Greg Abbott is immediately allowing all child care services to open for children of all workers, lifting a previous order limiting care to children of essential workers. That left some retail and restaurant workers facing a state-caused conundrum, called back to work without options for child care. But that didn't help parents without work who don't qualify for unemployment benefits but need child care for young children. As of Monday, 10,925 licensed child care operations are open, meaning 37% have closed since February. Child care centers with positive cases must report them to the state and to their local health departments.

Dial 2-1-1 find out if an agency near you provides diaper assistanceWhere to find deals:RetailMeNot offers coupons and promo codes for baby items to hundreds of stores. Houstons Food for Babies program provides free emergency formula assistance to eligible parents. The nonprofit also provides baby cereal and jarred baby foods when the items are in stock. The ministrys Gabriel Project provides assistance to qualifying low-income pregnant women and new parents. Baby items and supplies are given as needed and available.