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Elon Musk’s ever-expanding family has grown once again. The billionaire and tech mogul has officially welcomed his 14th child, as confirmed by his partner Shivon Zilis on X (formerly Twitter). The announcement, made on February 28, also revealed the baby’s name and gender, marking another addition to Musk’s already extensive list of heirs.
Shivon Zilis, an executive at one of Musk’s companies, shared the news just after celebrating the first birthday of their daughter, Arcadia. In a heartfelt post, she wrote, “After talking with Elon, and in light of Arcadia’s beautiful birthday, we thought it was best to share directly about our wonderful and incredible son, Seldon Lycurgus.”
Musk, known for his brief but impactful online interactions, responded simply with a heart emoji, leaving fans and followers to fill in the gaps.
Zilis and Musk first made headlines in 2021 when they welcomed twins via IVF, naming them Strider and Azure. In February 2024, they expanded their family again with the birth of Arcadia. Now, with the arrival of Seldon Lycurgus, the couple has four children together.
Musk’s parenting journey began in 2002 when he and his then-wife, Justine Wilson, welcomed their first son, Nevada Alexander. Tragically, Nevada passed away at just 10 weeks old due to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).
Determined to grow their family, the couple pursued IVF treatments, leading to the birth of twins, Vivian (born Xavier) and Griffin, in 2004, followed by triplets, Kai, Saxon, and Damian, in 2006.
His next chapter in fatherhood came in 2020 with musician Grimes, who gave birth to X Æ A-12, a child who has since made several public appearances alongside Musk. Their family continued to grow with the birth of Exa Dark Sideræl in December 2021 and Techno Mechanicus in June 2022, both born via surrogacy.
Musk’s approach to fatherhood and reproduction has often raised eyebrows, especially given his strong public stance on population decline. In July 2022, he wrote, “I am doing my best to combat underpopulation. The collapse in birth rates is by far the greatest danger civilization faces.” His growing number of children certainly aligns with that belief.
His most recent paternity revelation came in February, when influencer Ashley St. Clair disclosed that she had given birth to a child with Musk five months prior. She also claimed that the billionaire had been completely absent from their son’s life. Musk’s only response? A blunt “Whoa.” A custody hearing for that child, R.S.C, is set for May.
With 14 children from multiple relationships, Musk is no stranger to unconventional family dynamics. Whether his vast brood will one day follow in his footsteps or forge their own paths remains to be seen. But one thing is certain—when it comes to expanding his lineage, Musk shows no signs of slowing down.
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Jason and Kylie Kelce‘s fourth baby girl isn’t far off.
The pregnant star dropped a major hint about her due date in Thursday’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast episode, telling listeners she is “nearly nine months pregnant.”
Therefore, Kylie, 32, admitted she sounds like she is “running a marathon.”
After explaining that her “child’s butt is so far into [her] lungs that [she] can’t inflate them fully,” she quipped, “The miracle of life.”
Last week, Kylie teased her due date by saying she was “about to have three birthdays very close together.”
Her daughters Elliotte, 4, and Bennett, 2, were born in March 2021 and February 2023, respectively, while Wyatt, 5, is an October baby.
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Want celebrity news as it breaks? Hooked on Housewives?
As Kylie awaits the girls’ younger sister, her “For You” page on TikTok is full of videos of other social media users packing hospital bags.
The former field hockey coach broke down the “craziest s–t” she has seen, from an “entire makeup kit” and a camera tripod to a “checked bag size” suitcase with wheels.
“I don’t understand why we’re bringing a … checked bag size wheelie suitcase,” she said. “I have taken a duffel bag and a diaper bag with all the baby things in it. I feel like I am almost missing something.”
The contents of her hospital bag have not “changed much” over the years and include two sets of “very, very stretchy” pajamas, a toiletry bag, a robe, a going-home outfit, snacks, slippers and flip-flops.
When baby No. 3 was born, Jason made headlines for insisting they bring a fan to the hospital.
Kylie poked fun at her husband’s infamous “Kelce” documentary moment Thursday, saying, “I would not be surprised if this time he levels up and brings an air mattress.”
She and the former Philadelphia Eagles player, 37, revealed in November 2024 that their girl gang was growing.
Kylie speculated elsewhere in Thursday’s episode that she could welcome a fifth baby as a “pleasant surprise” down the line and end up needing a “sprinter van.”
She called pregnancy a “means to an end” as someone who “so enjoys that squishy kid phase” while chatting with guest Kate Hudson.
“I love learning them and getting to learn them as they grow up,” she said, with Hudson, 45, warning her it gets “better” and “scarier” over time.
The “Running Point” star is the mother of son Ryder, 21, son Bingham, 13, and daughter Rani, 6.
Hudson told Kylie that she still questions whether she is “totally done” having kids.
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"They act jealous of us traveling but refuse to go anywhere."
Boomer parents who don't like to travel, but say they do.
When it comes to intergenerational conflict, you never hear too much about Gen Z having a hard time with Generation X or the silent generation having beef with the baby boomers. However, there seems to be some problem where baby boomers and millennials just can’t get on the same page.
Maybe it’s because millennials were raised during the technological revolution and have to help their boomer parents log into Netflix. There’s also a political divide: Millennials are a reliable liberal voting bloc, whereas boomers are the target demographic for Fox News. Both generations also have differing views on parenting, with boomers favoring an authoritative style over the millennials' gentler approach.
A Redditor asked Xennials, older millennials, and younger Gen Xers born between 1977 and 1983 to share some quirks of their boomer parents, and they created a fun list of habits that can be both endearing and frustrating. The users shared that millennials are frustrated with their parents' abilities to use technology but are touched when they send them a greeting card.
Of course, it is reductive to reduce generations into a series of stereotypes, whether it’s millennials or baby boomers. But, for many, hearing that they aren’t the only person who gets frustrated with their boomer parents can be pretty cathartic and make them feel less alone.
Here are 15 boomer parent quirks that Millenials just don’t understand.
"They save EVERYTHING (containers, jars, boxes, etc.) just in case they might be able to use it for something later. I feel like this habit was handed down from our grandparents' Great Depression upbringing."
"Absolutely! Shopping bags, empty yogurt containers, boxes that some product came in…..although I love me a 'good box!' I have all my iPhone boxes for no reason."
person using laptop attach to vehicle near green leaf plant during daytime Photo by Brina Blum on Unsplash
"Will text something foreboding like 'we need to talk;' then turns out she forgot a recipe."
"My dad will text me 'You need to call me right now' when it’s nothing. And not tell me major life events until well after the fact. Like my aunt had a heart attack and I found out a week later from her son. (And my dad did know.)"
"My mom is ALWAYS telling me about dead people I’ve never met. I really do not care. I know that sounds awful, but I don’t have it in me to be sad for everyone on the planet when they pass."
“You remember my friend Carol? Her aunt had that above-ground swimming pool in her backyard. We swam in it a couple times one summer when you were about 9. Anyway, Carol’s mom just lost her brother-in-law. They were very close. Thought you’d want to know.”
"They act jealous of us traveling but refuse to go anywhere."
"Ooh good one. Mine act jealous of anything we do/buy that they can't solely because they can't get out of their own way and actually make things happen."
man and woman sitting on blue sofa Photo by Gift Habeshaw on Unsplash
"My Boomer FIL prints out EVERYTHING from his computer. I understand printing out instructions or recipes to help remember but do you really need a file cabinet full of forwarded emails from friends and sale adverts from 5 years ago? Oh well, at least he keeps it organized. Also, both TVs in the house run 24/7 playing reruns of 'CSI: Who Gives a Sh*t Anymore?'"
"I'm not on Facebook, but my dad is. Last year, he made a celebratory post on my birthday and all his church friends liked and commented on it. He printed up the post and all of the comments, stapled it into a little book, and MAILED me the printed Facebook comments…"
"My dad sends text messages with, 'From, Dad' at the end of them. It cracks me up every time. He also states who he is every time he calls me."
"One quirk my dad had was that he was deathly afraid of the house burning down. Not from the standpoint of the danger of fire but when he was growing up, if your house burnt down, you were basically homeless and destitute. My mom is much more level headed about it. She always told my dad, that is why we have homeowners insurance."
man in brown and white plaid dress shirt and yellow hard hat holding black and orange Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash
"My mother-in-law doesn't throw out expired food. She has food in her pantry that is several years past their expiration dates. Same with condiments in her fridge. You just can't trust any of the food she has on hand because more than likely than not it's way expired. When we have brought this up, that she needs to throw some stuff out, she insists it's absolutely fine. It's not. "
"My grandmother is the same way. Once, she opened her refrigerator, and there was a jar of pickles with mold floating on the surface of the liquid. I pointed it out, and she said it was still good. She would just scoop the mold out at a later time. She has an incredibly strong stomach and immune system."
"You always hear a kids 'these kids always on their damn phones.' But when it comes to phone addiction, boomers are far worse."
"My mom drives five hours to see us, then spends the whole time texting people from her church or looking at Facebook."
"I once sat in their living room for over an hour before they decided to put their phones down and speak to me, only to phub me and pick them right back up."
"My dad still clings to the traditional division of 'men's/women's work.' He'll fix a car, do any outside work, clean out a clogged drain. Cooking? If it's any more complicated than making coffee or calling in a pizza, he can't/won't. I don't think he even grills anymore. Laundry? Hell no. Taking care of small children? He'll play with them but that's it."
man in blue top fixing green car during daytime Photo by Elvis Bekmanis on Unsplash
"In-laws leave the TV on for all waking hours. And FIL gets irritated if someone talks over the episode of MASH or Walker, Texas Ranger, that he's already seen 50 times. Like clenching his teeth and stomping the floor."
"TV on 24/7. Constantly flipping between some version of Law and Order, HGTV, and Guy Fieri. Asking me 'did you see that commercial where…' No mom. I don’t have cable. I don’t see commercials. All of the time."
"My dad…he's has to be right about everything and doesn't know what to do if you beat him to the point on something. He once was giving me a recipe that required cinnamon, cardamon, and clove and told me just to use Pumpkin Pie Spice! It's the greatest thing! 'Dad, I don't need to. I have all those spices on hand (I bake)' But…no! You have to use this. 'No, I don't. I don't need to buy something that I already have" It happens all the time."
"My parents are always right and they are not impressed about anything."
"Yes, my dad should have been a meteorologist. He used to have a weather alert radio that would sound off in the middle of the night and he would watch the weather channel constantly. We all had to quiet down when your local weather forecast on the 8's came on. He gets really excited about severe weather like when we might get thunderstorms or a tornado."
selective color photography of three person holding umbrellas under the rain Photo by Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash
"Without fail, every time I'm leaving my mother's house and backing down the driveway, she comes back out of her house and stops me to say something else, even though we'd just spoken."
"My mom has an anxiety attack during the entire journey of a package or piece of mail she dispatched to me. No, she doesn’t know how to track. She will not rest until she knows that a package has arrived or a nominal check has been cashed. She calls when she is thinking about sending something, when she sent it, when it’s en route, and when it’s expected to arrive. God forbid it’s late. And if I don’t issue a prompt thank you, she will guilt me."
Vimbai Kapurura is the Executive Director of Women Unlimited, a grassroots women’s rights organization working to promote the rights and leadership of women, girls, and marginalized groups in Eswatini and southern Africa. With support from the Rapid Response Window of the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), she’s advocating to have more female voices in national peace building spaces to ensure women’s rights and demands are included.
In the face of the growing political turmoil in Eswatini, where calls for the establishment of a national dialogue remain seemingly unanswered, Vimbai and her organization are stepping up, raising their voice and bringing forward innovative solutions to promote peace and stability across the country. WPHF is supporting them to amplify women’s voices and mainstream gender perspectives into relevant decision-making mechanisms.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
As part of its project with WPHF, Women Unlimited – with technical support from Cordaid, one of the INGO partners of the RRW – has trained several local women-led civil society organizations in conflict resolution, conflict prevention and mediation processes, as well as carried out educational and awareness raising campaigns on the value of women’s participation in peace processes, targeting both women and men across the country.
In Eswatini, where women and girls face deep-rooted patriarchy from a very young age, undermining their confidence, autonomy and leadership, Vimbai has become an outspoken advocate for women’s equal representation in decision-making roles at all levels, from community-level and regional committees to national and global peace building spaces.
A tireless leader and activist who’s influenced the lives of many women and girls in Eswatini, Vimbai is a firm believer in women’s capacity, tenacity, and adaptability to lead and drive transformative change in their communities. When she thinks about peace, she dreams about women coming together, taking up space, and walking side by side for a more peaceful and gender-equal world in which harmful stereotypes and cultural practices are left behind.
Follow, engage, and amplify the work of Vimbai's organization!
It's fun, weird, and will make people like you way more.
The longer I'm alive, it seems the more people's names that I have to remember. With two kids in school, sports, and other activities, I find myself trying to keep track of dozens of different friends, teammates, siblings, coaches, teachers, and of course, parents. It makes my brain hurt! Lately I've had half a mind to start a spreadsheet so I can start remembering Who's Who.
In order for that to work, I've got to find a way to stop people's names leaving my head immediately after I'm introduced. I know I'm not the only one who does this. It's like people say their name and it just zips right into one ear and out the other! And for that, I went looking for tips when I stumbled upon a good one from a unique sort of expert.
Derren Brown is one of the most famous mentalists in the world, so he knows a thing or two about people. Mentalists are a special breed of magician that focus on tricks and illusions of the mind.
They do things like hynopsis, mind-reading, and impossible predictions. There's trickery, involved, of course; but mentalists are also masters at reading people and have to employ advanced memory techniques to keep track of information they learn during their shows.
Giphy
The secret is to create a link between the part of your brain that stores information like names, and the visual part of your brain that is more easily accessed.
"You find a link between the person's name and something about their appearance, what they're wearing, their face, their hair, something," Brown says. "You find a link with something that they're wearing so if they're called Mike and they've got big black hair you think, 'Oh that's like a microphone' so I can imagine like a big microphone walking around or if they've got a stripy T-shirt on you imagine a microphone with those stripes going around it.
"And it's the same process later on in the evening you see them, you look at the stripes and you go, 'Oh that's Mike. Oh yeah that's Mike. The hair, why am I thinking the hair is like a big microphone? Oh yes, of course, they're called Mike.'"
Microphone Mike! Any sort of alliteration based on a physical characteristic will work. Stripey Steve, Tall Tim, Green Gene. The more interesting and unique, the better you'll remember.
There is one catch with the technique: You have to actually listen and pay attention when someone tells you their name!
"So, you do have to listen that's the first thing when they say the name," Brown says. "Normally the very moment where someone is giving you their name you're just caught up in a whole lot of social anxiety anyways you don't even hear it, so you have to listen."
Using someone's name when you talk to them has tons of benefits. It conveys respect, friendliness, and intimacy. When you're on the receiving end and someone you've just met uses your name, it just feels good! It feels like it matters to them that they met you.
"And then at the end [of the party] you get to go around and say goodbye to everybody by name and everyone thinks you're very charming and clever," Brown quips.
Listen to the entire, fascinating interview here.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
The method involves attaching things to be remembered (numbers, tasks, facts) to specific places that are easy to visualize in your head. Imagine taking a brain-walk down the street you live on and all the objects or places you might see there. The mailbox, the gnarled tree, the rusty fire hydrant. This memory method asks you to visually associate one thing you want to remember with each item or location. The more strange and visual the image you can create, the better! Brown uses the example of trying to shove a sparkling-clean shirt into his mailbox, reminding him to do his drycleaning.
When you need to recall the item, you just take a little walk in your head down the street.
(Did you know that there's a World Championship of Memory? Most of the best competitors use a version of this technique.)
Giphy
The name hack isn't so dissimilar. You're attaching an intangible, abstract thing (a name) to a specific visual image you can see in your head and even in the real world. But that's just one way of getting better at remembering names! There are all kinds of tips, hacks, and methods you can try.
Some people swear by repeating the name immediately after hearing it. "Hi, my name is Jake." "Hi, Jake, nice to meet you!" (Just don't say someone's name too frequently or you risk coming off a bit slimy.)
Others use a technique similar to Brown's loci idea, but instead of a visual, you lean on things that are already deeply engrained in your memory, like rhymes or free-association. or even celebrities. Mary – had a little lamb. Jake – the Snake. Daisy – flowers. Tom – Cruise.
Another trick (that I've definitely used before) if you do forget someone's name? Introduce them to someone you know! "Hey, this is my wife, Sarah." The person was almost always introduce themselves using their own name, and then you get a second chance at remembering it.
A lot of the best advice really comes down to being intentional about remembering when you're introduced to a new person. Whatever mental gymnastics you choose to do with the name, the mere fact that you're thinking about it with such focus immediately after is a big part of why these 'tricks' help names stick.
It feels really good when someone cares enough to remember your name, so it's definitely worth putting in a little effort of trying to instill that feeling in others.
You can make a huge difference by using O Organics.
A volunteer hands out food in a food bank and Meg Sullivan shares her dad's kind gesture.
When we consider people who have had a positive impact on the world, we often think of those who have made grand gestures to improve the lives of others, such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Greta Thunberg, or Mahatma Gandhi. Unfortunately, that type of effort is out of reach for the average person.
However, O Organics would like to remind everyone that they can positively impact the world through small, consistent acts of kindness that add up over time. Much like how a small creek can create a valley over the years, we can change lives through small, consistent acts of kindness.
O Organics is dedicated to the well-being of all by nourishing people everywhere with delicious organic foods grown by producers who meet USDA-certified organic farming standards.
Upworthy's Instagram page recently posted a touching example of everyday kindness. Meg Sullivan shared how her father, Tom, peeled oranges for her lunch just about every day from kindergarten through high school. But on the final day of her senior year of high school, he sent his 17-year-old daughter unpeeled oranges with a touching note about how she’d have to start peeling them for herself.
“It’s Time Baby Girl,” he wrote on a wikiHow printout on how to peel an orange with a drawing of himself crying. For the father, this daily ritual was about more than just making lunch; it was about showing that he cared by going the extra mile. “I could have put money on her lunch account,” Tom told Today.com. “But it’s one of those little things I thought was important, that she knows somebody’s taking the time to take care of her.”
The small, daily gesture taught Megan an essential lesson in kindness.
The post reminded people how their fathers’ small acts of kindness meant so much to them. “My dad peeled my oranges until I graduated high school, too. Now, I peel my daughter’s oranges and will for the next 7 plus years,” Katie wrote in the comments. “Love this. My dad peeled mine, too. When I moved out, he gave me an orange peeler gadget,” Mary added.
O Organics has a wide array of foods and flavors covering almost everything on your shopping list.via Albertson's
Did you know that every time you go to the supermarket, you can also change the world through small gestures? O Organics not only allows you to feed your family delicious and nutritious organic food, but each purchase also gives back to help people and communities facing food insecurity.
Through contributions from customers like you, O Organics donates up to 28 million meals annually. The company’s contribution is essential when, according to the USDA, 47.4 million Americans live in food-insecure households.
O Organics has a wide array of foods and flavors covering almost everything on your shopping list. “Over the years, we have made organic foods more accessible by expanding O Organics to every aisle across our stores, making it possible for health and budget-conscious families to incorporate organic food into every meal,” Jennifer Saenz, EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer at Albertsons, one of many stores where you can find O Organics products, said in a statement.
O Organics now offers over 1500 items, from dairy products such as eggs and milk to packaged meats and breakfast staples such as cereal bars, granola and oatmeal. You can also enjoy affordable organic produce with O Organics’ fresh salads and fruit.
Everybody wants to make the world a better place. With O Organics, you can feed your family healthy, organic food every time you go to the market while paying it forward by contributing to the company’s efforts to end food insecurity nationwide. That’s a small, daily gesture that can amount to incredible change.
This is what leadership should look like.
Madalyn shared with her colleagues about her own mental health.
Madalyn Parker wanted to take a couple days off work. She didn't have the flu, nor did she have plans to be on a beach somewhere, sipping mojitos under a palm tree. Parker, a web developer from Michigan, wanted a few days away from work to focus on her mental health.
Parker lives with depression. And, she says, staying on top of her mental health is absolutely crucial. "The bottom line is that mental health is health," she told Upworthy over email. "My depression stops me from being productive at my job the same way a broken hand would slow me down since I wouldn't be able to type very well."
Parker's story first went viral in 2017. Since then, mental health days still have a stigma in some places but the understanding and acceptance of them has grown quite a bit. There's now a Mental Health Awareness Day every year on October 8 and in places like California, mental health days are covered with the same worker protections as sick days. The Mayo Clinic recommends individuals take mental health days as "an intentional act to alleviate distress and poor mood and motivation, while improving attitude, morale, functioning, efficiency and overall well-being." As they accurately report, mental health days are not just for people are feeling overwhelmed, they can be part of a deliberate strategy to maintain productivity and strong morale amongst individuals and teammates at work.
And that's why the response from Parker's response was so great at any time but especially because for far too many people, it was still ahead of its time.
"Hopefully," she wrote to them, "I'll be back next week refreshed and back to 100%."
Soon after the message was sent, the CEO of Parker's company wrote back:
Adam Scott Dancing GIF by Apple TVGiphy
The tweet, published on June 30, 2017, has since gone viral, amassing 45,000 likes and 16,000 retweets.
"It's nice to see some warm, fuzzy feelings pass around the internet for once," Parker says of the response to her tweet. "I've been absolutely blown away by the magnitude though. I didn't expect so much attention!"
Even more impressive than the tweet's reach, however, were the heartfelt responses it got.
"Thanks for giving me hope that I can find a job as I am," wrote one person, who opened up about living with panic attacks. "That is bloody incredible," chimed in another. "What a fantastic CEO you have."
That ignores an important distinction, Parker said — both in how we perceive sick days and vacation days and in how that time away from work is actually being spent.
"I took an entire month off to do partial hospitalization last summer and that was sick leave," she wrote back. "I still felt like I could use vacation time because I didn't use it and it's a separate concept."
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
They were even more surprised that the CEO thanked her for sharing her personal experience with caring for her mental health.
After all, there's still a great amount of stigma associated with mental illness in the workplace, which keeps many of us from speaking up to our colleagues when we need help or need a break to focus on ourselves. We fear being seen as "weak" or less committed to our work. We might even fear losing our job.
In a blog post on Medium, Congleton wrote about the need for more business leaders to prioritize paid sick leave, fight to curb the stigma surrounding mental illness in the workplace, and see their employees as people first.
"It's 2017. We are in a knowledge economy. Our jobs require us to execute at peak mental performance," Congleton wrote. "When an athlete is injured, they sit on the bench and recover. Let's get rid of the idea that somehow the brain is different."
This article originally appeared eight years ago.
"You're supposed to take a picture and leave, and I could not just leave."
Jessica Higgs had a sense that something wasn't right at a customer's house and her action saved his life.
One the more mysterious aspects of being human is our sense of intuition. This "sixth sense" isn't something we can see or measure, but many people have experienced it in some form or fashion. Maybe it comes as a strong feeling that something isn't right, or that we or someone else should or shouldn't do something. It can be hard to read—not every feeling we get is truly our intuition—but there are plenty of examples of people trusting their instincts and being glad they did.
One such story has gone viral on TikTok. Jessica Higgs, a mom who works as an Instacart grocery delivery person, shared a story in an emotional video that illustrates the importance of listening to that inner voice when it prompts you to make sure someone is OK.
"I just want to start this off by saying if you see something, say something," Higgs said.
Animated GIFGiphy
She explained how she had done an Instacart order the previous day for a daughter who was ordering for her older dad who couldn't shop for himself. She said she was going the extra mile like she always does for her customers, and that the daughter told her to just drop the groceries on the porch and he'd get them. That's what Higgs would usually do.
"I get there and something was telling me no, you gotta help this man out," she said. "He came out, and I was like OK let me help you, and I got the groceries. You're not supposed to go into someone's house, but I used my judgment and I brought the groceries inside and put them down wherever he wanted me to put them down. You're not supposed to, but I did. And you're supposed to just take a picture and leave, and I could not just leave."
@Instacart #28DaysOfEucerin #fyp
Higgs noticed that the man looked really sick and she was really concerned. A voice in her head said, "You gotta say something. You gotta say something, Jess." Rather than mark the order as complete, she messaged the man's daughter and told her that it was really unprofessional to say something like this, but she felt like her dad wasn't doing well. "There's a propane tank in there," she told the woman. "I was in there maybe five feet and I got dizzy. There's got to be a leak. He might not be doing good because of this leak."
The woman said she would send her son over to check it out and Higgs left. The woman changed her tip from $14 to $100, which Higgs appreciated, but the message she sent her the next morning was a much greater reward for her going the extra mile.
"Thank you so much, once my son went to check on my dad it turned out it was definitely leaking," she wrote. "You definitely saved my dad and my younger son's life!!!"
Through tears, Higgs said, "I'm just an Instacart worker, but if you see something, say something. I did and I'm so happy I did."
Higgs' TikTok has been viewed more than 15 million times and has been shared widely on social media. It has also attracted the attention of big companies.
Royal Caribbean Cruises shared a TikTok video of its own praising Higgs for her heroic act and offering her and her family a seven-day cruise anywhere in the world. "Cause even heroes need a vacation," the company wrote.
Stitch with @jessicahiggs3 – cause even heroes need a vacation. Thanks @captaincruiseguy
Old Navy connected with her and arranged a shopping spree where she got to model several new outfits. People Magazine commented, "You’re literally a HERO! Good job trusting your instincts. 💕" Even TikTok itself wrote, "You are amazing ❤️thank you for sharing this with all of us."
Lots of commenters also pointed out that she's not "just an Instacart worker." Her work is important, she's providing a needed service and any job done in a spirit of helping others should not be minimized. If she hadn't been there doing her job well, that man may not be here. Never underestimate the difference each of us can make by the simple act of looking out for one another, friend and stranger alike.
Higgs' heartfelt story touched millions, and she's being rightly rewarded for listening to her heart and going out of her way to help someone. Gotta love seeing good things come to people doing good. Well done, Jessica Higgs.
This article originally appeared three years ago.
It was a shocking decision but people are saying she was right to do it.
The grandmother was suspicious.
A grandmother always felt her middle granddaughter Lindsay, 15, looked slightly different from the rest of the family because she had blonde, curly hair, while the rest of her siblings’ hair was dark “I thought genetics was being weird and I love her,” she wrote.
But things became serious after Linday’s parents “banned” her from taking things a step further and getting a DNA test. If the family was sure their daughter was theirs, why would they forbid her from seeking clarity in the situation? After the parents laid down the law, the situation started to seem a little suspicious. “I told my son and [daughter-in-law] that there was something fishy around her birth she needed to know. They denied it and told me to leave it alone,” the grandma wrote.
Lindsay wouldn’t give up her quest. She approached her biology teacher, who admitted that it was “odd” for her to have such different traits. This confusion was too much for Lindsay, so she went to her grandmother for help. “She came to me distressed, asking me to buy a DNA test since she needs to know,” the grandmother wrote. 
The grandmother's post about her secret DNA test went viralImage via Canva
The grandmother purchased a DNA test and it proved their suspicions. “Long story short, she is not her mother's kid,” the grandmother wrote. “My son got someone else pregnant and her bio mom gave her up.”
The interesting thing was that Lindsay was a middle child. So, the dad had a baby with another woman while he was with his wife. This revelation begs the question: How did the family suddenly have a baby out of nowhere without people being suspicious?
“They were on the other side of the country when she was born, and I met Lindsey when she was about 6 months old. Really not hard to hide the whole thing,” the grandmother wrote. “Our family has a history of miscarriages, so it’s common to drop news about a baby late in the pregnancy. They did the same with their oldest and didn't think anything about it.” 
The grandmothers secret DNA test sparked a debateImage via Canva
The big revelation has caused friction in the family. The family no longer talks to the grandmother, which makes Lindsay even more furious about the situation.Should the grandmother have taken such drastic steps if she knew what could happen if her suspicions were true? The commenters on Reddit overwhelmingly supported the grandmother’s decision. The big reason was that Lindsay needed to know her family history for medical reasons.
"Your son and his wife suck for lying to her until she is 15 about something so important and trying to keep lying to her even after she obviously started to question things. There are medical reasons a person might need to know what their genetics are/are not, and if you hadn’t helped her, she would have found out some other way," Shake_Speare423 wrote.
Another commenter noted that protecting the parents’ lie wasn’t nearly as important as Lindsay’s mental health.
"People have a right to know their genetic heritage. Lying about adoption is linked to increased suicidal ideation, anxiety, and depression. You put her safety and comfort ahead of your son’s preferences. Parental rights do not have greater value than a child’s right to access comprehensive medical care, and hiding an adoption does precisely that. Maybe some things, like a child staying healthy, should matter more than a parent's right to lie, gaslight and manipulate their child as they see fit," RemembrancerLirael added.
– YouTubewww.youtube.com
The commenters overwhelmingly supported the grandma for putting herself into an uncomfortable situation to protect her granddaughter’s mental and physical health. However, one commenter noted that she could have gone about it in a less polarizing way.
“Bit out of the norm for the responses here, but you should have gone through your son [and daughter-in-law] and convinced them. Told them that the biology teacher had highlighted that she had traits that didn't make sense, etc. and convinced them that Lindsey would find out either way,” PhilMcGraw wrote. “It would have allowed them to find a way to tell her without it being forced on them angrily. A DNA test is the absolute worst way to be told. I'm sure they would have much rather told her than let her find out by a DNA test if that is what was coming.”
This article originally appeared three years ago.
Funny kangaroos, monkeys and more!
The 2023 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards.
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, known for being one of the most entertaining photography contests, has just wrapped up, and this year’s top prize goes to Jason Moore for his hilarious and brilliantly captured photo of a kangaroo, cheekily named “Air Guitar Roo.” Not only did this fantastic shot win the overall competition, but it also rocked the Creatures of the Land category, too.
Jason's photo stood out among a whopping 5,300 entries submitted by 1,842 photographers from 85 countries. Moore’s photo of the female western grey kangaroo was taken in the outer suburbs of Perth, Australia when Jason visited a field of wildflowers to snap some pics of the many adult kangaroos and joeys playing there.
“The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured,” Moore said in a statement. “Not many people know that kangaroos are normally fairly docile and even a bit boring most of the time if I’m honest. However, when I saw this roo striking the air guitar pose, it immediately brought a smile to my face, and I knew that I had captured something really special."
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was started in 2015 by Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam to create a competition focused on the lighter, humorous side of wildlife photography while assuming an essential role in promoting wildlife conservation.
Here are 14 of the big winners.
A kangaroo rocking out.
© Jason Moore/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"On this day, I had been out with my camera photographing some waterfowl at a nearby lake. I had been up at sunrise to take advantage of the 'golden hour' light, but it turned out to be a disappointing morning on the water. After leaving the lake, somewhat dejected, I decided to swing past an area of open bushland, because there are often a 'mob' of Kangaroos feeding and sunning themselves in a field close to the road. … The morning light was still favorable so I grabbed my camera and headed off to a spot where I could get down to eye level with my subjects. I ended up shooting about 40 or 50 frames of the kangaroos with various content including mum’s, joeys and also some action shots of them bouncing along through the yellow field. The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured. However, when I saw this animal strike this pose it immediately brought a smile to my face and I knew that I had captured something special." — Jason Moore
A heron takes a dive.
© Vittorio Ricci/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"An unusual end of a perfect moment." — Vittorio Ricci
An otter with perfect form.
© Otter Kwek/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"The otter was leaping while attempting to grasp the overhanging leaves, and during an unusual landing, it ended up in the Arabesque pose. I showed this photo to a ballet teacher, and she commented that the otter is a natural but just needs to tuck in its tummy a bit — precisely what a ballet teacher would advise." — Otter Kwek
This greenfinch is very adamant about something.
© Jacek Stankiewicz/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"I caught this scene while watching birds in the Bialowieza Forest. My friends interpret this scene in two ways. One, a young naughty kid is arguing with a parent. Two, a kid is reporting to the parent that their brother did something wrong: 'Look he broke a window!'" — Jacek Stankiewicz
A turtle is about to have a meal.
© Tzahi Finkelstein /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"The swamp turtle is surprised and smiles at the dragonfly resting on its nose." — Tzahi Finkelstein
This owl is so over it.
© John Blumenkamp /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"While photographing the great gray owl shown in my image, I had been busy working to capture that majestic-looking pose. As the owl preened and then sat still for a short while, it stretched once more and for a quick moment gave the pose shown. As it did, I grinned and thought… now that’s funny!" — John Blumenkamp
A proud family of gannets.
© Zoe Ashdown /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"At RSPB Bempton Cliffs, each year between March and October, around half a million seabirds use the chalk cliffs towering above the North Sea to nest and raise a family. Gannets mate for life and they return to the same nest year after year to raise their young. Lying safely at the top of the cliff face, I was able to observe the affection shown between the gannets each time one returned to the nest. They have a greeting ritual, they rub beaks and entwine their necks; it’s how they strengthen their bond. But it’s also a brilliant opportunity to catch them in various poses. I didn’t realize I’d taken this image until I got home, but as soon as I saw it I laughed out loud! They look like proud parents, posing with their baby." — Zoe Ashdown
A puffin doing the upside-down Snoopy routine.
© Brain Mattews /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"A puffin does an inverted snoopy impression while watching jelly fish." — Brian Matthews.
Silly little joey!
© Lara Matews/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"Taken at Westerfolds Park, a beautiful and surprisingly wild pocket of land in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, famous for its kangaroo population. The mob was enjoying some morning sunshine when this joey decided to get silly and try his hand at boxing." — Lara Mathews
A sophisticated monkey.
© Delphine Casimir/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"This picture was taken in the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali, a crazy place where monkeys are king! This forest is special even magical and sacred to the Balinese people. Maybe our dandy is the reincarnation of a divinity?" — Delphine Casimir
"And on my right, is a deer."
© Pratik Mondal/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
A white-winged dove disrupted mid-flight.
© Wendy Kaveney/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"A white-winged dove appearing to fly head-on into a cholla cactus skeleton." — Whitney Kaveney
Why is that snowball alive?
© Jaques Poulard/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"The white grouse is coming towards me and looks like a snowball with eyes." — Jaques Poulard
A grey fox that looks like it's enjoying a fine cigar.
© Dakota Vaccaro/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"While I was working deep in the Virginian woods, a family of grey foxes took up residence under the deck of the abandoned cottage next to my work housing. One day, while practicing their hunting skills on bits of moss and branches, one of the kits lunged at a small chunk of wood and started rolling around with his prize. Tired after his hunt, the kit lounged on his belly still holding the wood in his mouth which gave the strong resemblance of a cigar." — Dakota Vaccaro
This article originally appeared two years ago.
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards was started in 2015 by Paul Joynson-Hicks MBE and Tom Sullam to create a competition focused on the lighter, humorous side of wildlife photography while assuming an essential role in promoting wildlife conservation.
Here are 14 of the big winners.
A kangaroo rocking out.
© Jason Moore/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"On this day, I had been out with my camera photographing some waterfowl at a nearby lake. I had been up at sunrise to take advantage of the 'golden hour' light, but it turned out to be a disappointing morning on the water. After leaving the lake, somewhat dejected, I decided to swing past an area of open bushland, because there are often a 'mob' of Kangaroos feeding and sunning themselves in a field close to the road. … The morning light was still favorable so I grabbed my camera and headed off to a spot where I could get down to eye level with my subjects. I ended up shooting about 40 or 50 frames of the kangaroos with various content including mum’s, joeys and also some action shots of them bouncing along through the yellow field. The shoot turned out to be a great session, and I am quite fond of several images that I captured. However, when I saw this animal strike this pose it immediately brought a smile to my face and I knew that I had captured something special." — Jason Moore
A heron takes a dive.
© Vittorio Ricci/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"An unusual end of a perfect moment." — Vittorio Ricci
An otter with perfect form.
© Otter Kwek/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"The otter was leaping while attempting to grasp the overhanging leaves, and during an unusual landing, it ended up in the Arabesque pose. I showed this photo to a ballet teacher, and she commented that the otter is a natural but just needs to tuck in its tummy a bit — precisely what a ballet teacher would advise." — Otter Kwek
This greenfinch is very adamant about something.
© Jacek Stankiewicz/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"I caught this scene while watching birds in the Bialowieza Forest. My friends interpret this scene in two ways. One, a young naughty kid is arguing with a parent. Two, a kid is reporting to the parent that their brother did something wrong: 'Look he broke a window!'" — Jacek Stankiewicz
A turtle is about to have a meal.
© Tzahi Finkelstein /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"The swamp turtle is surprised and smiles at the dragonfly resting on its nose." — Tzahi Finkelstein
This owl is so over it.
© John Blumenkamp /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"While photographing the great gray owl shown in my image, I had been busy working to capture that majestic-looking pose. As the owl preened and then sat still for a short while, it stretched once more and for a quick moment gave the pose shown. As it did, I grinned and thought… now that’s funny!" — John Blumenkamp
A proud family of gannets.
© Zoe Ashdown /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"At RSPB Bempton Cliffs, each year between March and October, around half a million seabirds use the chalk cliffs towering above the North Sea to nest and raise a family. Gannets mate for life and they return to the same nest year after year to raise their young. Lying safely at the top of the cliff face, I was able to observe the affection shown between the gannets each time one returned to the nest. They have a greeting ritual, they rub beaks and entwine their necks; it’s how they strengthen their bond. But it’s also a brilliant opportunity to catch them in various poses. I didn’t realize I’d taken this image until I got home, but as soon as I saw it I laughed out loud! They look like proud parents, posing with their baby." — Zoe Ashdown
A puffin doing the upside-down Snoopy routine.
© Brain Mattews /Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"A puffin does an inverted snoopy impression while watching jelly fish." — Brian Matthews.
Silly little joey!
© Lara Matews/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"Taken at Westerfolds Park, a beautiful and surprisingly wild pocket of land in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, famous for its kangaroo population. The mob was enjoying some morning sunshine when this joey decided to get silly and try his hand at boxing." — Lara Mathews
A sophisticated monkey.
© Delphine Casimir/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"This picture was taken in the monkey forest in Ubud, Bali, a crazy place where monkeys are king! This forest is special even magical and sacred to the Balinese people. Maybe our dandy is the reincarnation of a divinity?" — Delphine Casimir
"And on my right, is a deer."
© Pratik Mondal/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
A white-winged dove disrupted mid-flight.
© Wendy Kaveney/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"A white-winged dove appearing to fly head-on into a cholla cactus skeleton." — Whitney Kaveney
Why is that snowball alive?
© Jaques Poulard/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"The white grouse is coming towards me and looks like a snowball with eyes." — Jaques Poulard
A grey fox that looks like it's enjoying a fine cigar.
© Dakota Vaccaro/Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards 2023
"While I was working deep in the Virginian woods, a family of grey foxes took up residence under the deck of the abandoned cottage next to my work housing. One day, while practicing their hunting skills on bits of moss and branches, one of the kits lunged at a small chunk of wood and started rolling around with his prize. Tired after his hunt, the kit lounged on his belly still holding the wood in his mouth which gave the strong resemblance of a cigar." — Dakota Vaccaro
This article originally appeared two years ago.
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As I was rushing around finishing last-minute shopping, picking up ingredients for special meals and wrapping up the dreaded emails and work tasks that separate us from yuletide festivities, I received a message that piqued my interest. A popular story player for children, used frequently by my 4-year-old as one of 900 adjuncts to get her to sleep every night, was being recalled due to a fire hazard. As I read further, I discovered that nine units in the United States and United Kingdom had overheated and melted due to battery issues. The company was recalling over 250,000 units.
I was interested in this recall as a concerned parent who, of course, doesn’t want their child to be burned or their home to catch fire (lest they remove the one precious item that gets my daughter to sleep most nights). But what really caught my attention was the intensity of the response to this issue. Because in addition to being a sleep-deprived yet proud mother of two young children, I am also a pediatric emergency physician and a firearm injury prevention researcher.
It’s fascinating that we have such a strong response to toy malfunctions, which may harm our children in real but minor ways (I remember a recall of a popular toy because children’s fingers could become stuck in it). And while I, the least grinchy of all mothers, wish only the safest toys for our children’s digits, I’m perplexed that as a society we will run news stories, interviews and social media campaigns to remove the dreaded scourge of finger-trapping toys from our streets and yet allow firearms — the leading cause of death among children in the U.S. ages 1-17 for five years running, according to a Johns Hopkins University report — to remain so easily accessible, seemingly without a second thought.
As a pediatric emergency medicine physician, I have witnessed countless tragedies involving children that could have been prevented. The guttural wail that comes from a parent while clutching the body of their deceased child is the most horrific thing you will ever hear. To witness this repeatedly due to preventable firearm injuries is as sickening as it is maddening. Lax firearm regulations, along with a surge in firearm purchasing during the pandemic, have created a perfect storm of access to these deadly items, often left unlocked and easily accessible to curious little ones.
From a public health, rather than a partisan, perspective, if we think of a gun the same way we think of any other object in our home, it is clear: we are failing to ensure the safety of our children. Firearms are not legally required to be stored safely, sold with a safe or lock, or to have a built-in locking mechanism that would allow only the owner to utilize the gun. The firearm producer Glock has known for decades that its firearms are easily modifiable with “switches” that can be cheaply made using a 3D printer to turn a standard handgun into an automated weapon. But Glock states that it has “no responsibility to prevent criminals from misusing its products, and that it cannot change its pistols to make them more difficult to modify.”
While the Consumer Product Safety Commission oversees the sale of practically every other good in the U.S., it has no authority to recall firearms or even to investigate injuries caused by defective firearms. And because there are no repercussions for firearm producers, they continue untouched as the blood of America’s children fills our Emergency Departments, homes and streets.
So, as you think about the gifts you gave this year, remember that because we care more about toy safety than gun safety, many families who lost children or teenagers to gun violence in 2024 (nearly 1,000 as of September) didn’t receive warm hugs from a loved one or hear the squeals of joy as their children unwrapped presents. Rather, they dwelt in the earthshattering silence borne by unfillable loss. With them in mind, I implore you to add one more task to your holiday to-do list — a phone call to your elected representative to ask for stronger protections for our children from the firearms that are so common in U.S. homes.
Rachel Weigert, M.D., is a physician researcher in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Children’s Minnesota and an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School.
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by Rachel Weigert, MinnPost
January 3, 2025
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It’s hard to believe that just a little over three years ago I didn’t own a single toy or kids book. Looking around my house now (home to a 3-year-old and a 1.5-year-old), it seems impossible that none of this stuff was in my possession not too long ago. I’m not sure how we got from there to here, where my house has so many toys and books in every room that it feels like an FAO Schwarz exploded inside.
I know that having a house full of toys is a privilege, and we are fortunate enough to have so many toys and the space for them to live. However, it has become too much—and it feels like many of the toys aren’t helping my child’s development and play time, and instead are a hinderance. Not to mention, my house is a constant mess.
If you are in a similar situation, it can be hard to know where to start to clear the clutter. “Going through toys” has been on my to-do list for a while. To help in my quest for a more organized home, I reached out to Alanna Gallo of Play. Learn. Thrive. to help. Alanna is a former teacher and mom-of-four who now consults with families to refigure their place spaces and beyond, giving parents actionable tasks to declutter, organize, and to set up their homes in a way that fosters independent play, growth, and learning. Read on for her best tips on how to declutter toys.
Alanna is a parent educator and the founder of Play. Learn. Thrive. She is also a former public school teacher and mom-of-four.
While I thought Alanna would give me simple tasks to help me sift through the toys, she opened my eyes to how big of a deal it is to create the best play space for your kids. Alanna believes that our play space and the way we encourage our kids to play is a huge part of their development and how they will eventually find their passions. As parents, we can create an optimal environment for kids to thrive in. We provide the support, and our kids can go out and find who they are and what excites them.
Though I want to declutter all the toys, it’s always been hard for me to depart with things, even if my kids rarely play with them. Alanna put it into perspective when she reminded me that as adults if we are in rooms full of clutter, we have a hard time focusing. It’s true—when my office is messy, I can barely focus on my work. It’s the same for kids. With too much clutter around and too many toys to choose from, kids may have a hard time picking one activity to stick with and flip from one thing to the next instead of diving into a project.
And from a purely practical standpoint, if you like to have a clean home, the fewer toys you have to begin with, the fewer toys you and your kids will need to clean up at the end of each day. Sign me up. With the help of Alanna, here we’re sharing seven steps you can take toward a better toy situation in your own home.
For my Marie Kondo fans out there, this likely sounds familiar. Just like with the KonMari Method where you take all of your clothes and put them in one place, you’re going to do that with toys. Take every single toy from your living room, playroom, basement, kid’s bedrooms and so on, and put them in one giant pile. This is to help you visualize just how much stuff you have. It’s probably going to be a big pile. It also leads us into our next step.
Once all of your items are in one place, you can begin the categorization process. You can make your own categories, or Alanna recommends categorizing toys into the following piles:
As you might guess, you can probably toss and/or donate many (if not all) of the items in piles one through four. Now that those items are out of the way, you’ll need to dig deeper into the fifth pile to further categorize. You can next categorize by toy type (think piles of vehicles, play food, dolls, stuffed animals, etc).
Once you’ve further categorized the toys your kids often use, consider how many of each they need. Do they need 20 fire trucks, or do they really only play with five of them? If you find yourself worried that your kids are going to miss a toy you want to get rid of, it’s often the case that out of sight, out of mind will happen, and your kids won’t notice that 20 fire trucks are missing. You don’t need to get rid of something your kid really loves, but focus on quality over quantity.
My own tip for when you are on the fence about getting rid of something is to put it in a bin in your closet and set a calendar reminder for one month. If your kid doesn’t mention the toy in that month, it’s probably OK to get rid of it. Nearly every time you end up getting rid of the toy.
Not every home and family’s needs are the same, so this is an action item you’ll have to consider for your situation. If your home has a dedicated playroom, this is a great safe space to set up for kids that will give them independence to play. If your home doesn’t have a playroom, find areas where you can keep the appropriate amount of toys for your kids to access. Ideally, it will be a space where you can keep an eye on the little ones while still giving them freedom to explore on their own.
Alanna explained there are optimal ways to display toys to encourage your kids to use them. You want toys to be easy to access and view from a kid’s point of view. Just as we mentioned above that “out of sight, out of mind” means kids will likely forget about certain toys, this is true for a playroom or place space. If toys are in closed bins, they may be skipped over. Consider cube organizers. You can consider putting one toy per cube, making it viewable and not overwhelming with too many to choose from.
Also think about this with your book displays. If younger kids can only view the spines, they may have a tough time finding ones that pique their interest. Choose a bookshelf that shows off the cover.
I totally get the hype around toy rotation. It makes perfect sense, and is a great way to keep things fresh for your kids without overwhelming them. However, this system has not always worked for me in the past. Toys stay forgotten in storage for way too long, until I inevitably discover them when my child has outgrown them or they are no longer of interest. If you are up for toy rotation, give it a try! However, if it doesn’t work for you, it’s OK to skip it too.
Now that you’ve made great toy progress, remember that there’s a situation ahead. Toys just somehow continue to appear over time. If it’s important to you to cut down on toys and clutter, voice this to the friends and family who are likely to give your child toys. Explain why you are cutting down on toys and are focusing on other things.
With birthdays and holidays, Alanna recommends either telling your guests absolutely no gifts, or being very specific about what your child wants and needs. Think beyond toys and create a wishlist of things like art supplies, outdoor items that will keep your child active all year long (rain jackets, snow or hiking books, hats, bikes, scooters, helmets), or focus on experience gifts. There are creative experiences you can ask for that cover a range of budgets like taking your child on a hike, taking them out to lunch, having a movie night, attending a baking class, a membership to a science museum or zoo, swim lessons, covering a ballet class, a snowboarding lesson, and beyond.
It can feel hard to get rid of toys or not bring new ones into your house. Kids really do light up when they get a new toy, and that’s a fun reaction to see. But the excitement can quickly fade, and there are other more meaningful ways to excite and engage your children beyond stuff. Kids need a lot less than we all think, and having less can lead to more imagination, more discovery, and more space to thrive. Not to mention, you might actually get your living room back and you don’t have to risk stepping on a LEGO each night. Now that’s a win-win for the entire family.
Amanda is a writer specializing in health, wellness, and motherhood. She recently wrote the book Pregnancy Hacks, sharing tips to comfortably get through the major ups and downs of pregnancy. She currently works for Babylist and lives in Maryland with her husband, kids Millie, Ezra, and Sloane, and pup Ollie.
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A recent study finds a link between the rise in kids’ worsening vision and screen time.
The study, published by Jama Network Open, “found a one-hour daily increment of digital screen time increased the risk of myopia — or nearsightedness — by 21%. The risk increases with more time spent each day on screens,” per Parents.com.
Rates of myopia in kids are up 42% from 25% in the 1970s. Almost half of all people are expected to have nearsightedness by 2050.
A paper published in 2024 covering the same topic claimed that almost 40% of children all over the world will be nearsighted by 2050.
“Myopia has emerged as a major public health concern nowadays, with striking evidence existing for rapid increases in its prevalence, especially for Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore, China and Taiwan,” the paper stated.
East Asian children had the highest rate of nearsightedness, with 35% — more than twice the rate of White children.
So, what can parents do to prevent their child’s eyesight from being negatively impacted?
“We think that outdoor time is the best form of prevention for nearsightedness,” Dr. Noha Ekdawi, a pediatric ophthalmologist, told NPR.
Ian Morgan, a myopia researcher, ran an experiment to test the real effects of outdoor time on myopia and found that “the children who reported spending more time outdoors were less likely to be myopic and, we showed later on, less likely to become myopic.”
The Mayo Clinic recommends the following steps for helping families reduce screentime in their households:
Related: 5 Tips to Help Your Child Manage Their Screen Time
Set expectations with your kids, and create goals to be intentional about reducing screen time. Many devices have features to set time limits for use.
If your kids spend a lot of leisure time on screens, including watching TV, start by setting smaller, more attainable goals. Instead of jumping right to the recommended one to two hours or less per day, start by cutting their current screen time in half.
After school or work, spend time each day talking face to face with kids and give them your full attention.
During screen-free hours, put devices away or at a charging station in a common area so they’re not attracting your kids’ attention.
Making family meal areas a phone-free zone is an easy way to start.
Putting down the phone and taking a walk or playing outdoors increases your endorphins and provides that feeling of happiness in your brain, boosting your mood and improving your physical health.
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The memorial for baby Mateo outside the Bloomington hotel. (FOX 9)
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (FOX 9) – A Hennepin County judge sentenced a woman who drowned her baby in a bathtub and disposed of the body in a hotel dumpster to more than 30 years in prison on Thursday.
The sentencing:
Esperanza Rae Harding, 21, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of her 8-month-old child at a Bloomington hotel on Feb. 28, 2024.
She pleaded guilty to the charge in December 2024, and was sentenced on March 6 to 384 months, or 32 years, in prison with credit for 366 days served.
Her boyfriend, Edin Trudeau, entered a guilty plea in February 2025 to aiding an accomplice after the fact. His sentencing is scheduled for early May, according to court records.
"My thoughts are with Mateo’s family today," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. "This was a heartbreaking case and while Ms. Harding is being held accountable, it does not return Mateo to his family or offer him the life he should have had the chance to live."
READ MORE: Heartbreaking memorial honors baby killed at Bloomington hotel
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, Harding told investigators she was trying to take a bath when her son started crying in the other room. She claimed that she was "upset she could not enjoy her bath."
Harding allegedly explained how she drowned her child in the bathtub and "wrapped up his body, put it in a backpack, and threw it in a dumpster," the charges read.
Authorities recovered cell phone evidence, including a picture of the child in the tub allegedly taken after the incident and text messages Harding sent to then-18-year-old Trudeau, whom she claimed to have been dating, according to court records.
"I’m about to do something bad, Please answer me, He going to no be here much longer," Harding allegedly texted Trudeau, to which he responded, "OK that’s OK," charges read. When Harding texted again that the child was dead and that she was sorry, he allegedly responded, "Don’t Be."
Harding claims Trudeau came over to the hotel room, and they tried CPR, but it did not work. No one called 911 for help, and charges allege Trudeau suggested Harding bring the child to the dumpster and act as if she was throwing the trash out.
The criminal complaint filed in March 2024 indicated the infant's body had not been found.
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