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Children's Health NPR reports on children's health and medical news including health insurance, new treatments for diseases, and child product safety recalls. Subscribe to the RSS feed.

Children's Health

Wednesday

An illustration of a school administrator working at their desk, which has apples and a paddle on it.
Deanna Staffo for NPR

Deep Dive

Only on NPR

15 states have laws that allow corporal punishment in schools. Here's where, and why

There is broad consensus among psychologists that corporal punishment can be harmful to children, but the U.S. has no federal laws banning it in public schools.

15 states have laws that allow corporal punishment in schools. Here’s where, and why

Listen · 6:07
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Tuesday

A child, who appears to be about a year old, is sitting on an exam table, wearing a diaper. A medical professional is holding the child by the hand.

A child is prepped to receive an MMR vaccine at Lurie Children's Primary Care in Chicago. Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images hide caption

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Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images

5 questions parents may have after Trump's latest vaccine move

Parents may be confused about the status of vaccines for their kids after President Trump's new executive order. It's important to know nothing is changing right away.

5 questions parents may have after Trump's latest vaccine move

Listen · 3:55
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Monday

President Donald Trump sits at the Resolute Desk with several people behind him.

President Donald Trump speaks before signing an executive order that calls for changing the childhood vaccine schedule. With him in the Oval Office, from left, are Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of NIH; Jayme Franklin, a conservative activist; Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Dr. Heidi Overton, deputy director of domestic policy for the White House. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Trump and RFK Jr. try again to upend vaccines for kids

President Trump signed an executive order on Monday about vaccines, saying children should get fewer. His administration has been blocked in the courts from changing the vaccine schedule.

Trump and RFK Jr. try again to upend vaccines for kids

Listen · 3:53
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Friday

An animated scene from Toy Story 5 shows horse toy Bullseye, and cowgirl doll Jessie angrily confronting Lilypad, a tablet that looks like a frog.

Cowgirl Jessie and her horse Bullseye face off against Lilypad in Disney and Pixar's Toy Story 5. It opens in theaters on Friday, June 19. Disney/Pixar hide caption

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Disney/Pixar

'Toy Story 5' gets at something very real: It's hard to keep kids off screens in summer

Kids' screen use goes way up in the summertime. And just as the movie Toy Story 5 portrays, that can be problematic for children. Here are tips for parents to help their kids manage screens and have fun IRL this summer.

'Toy Story 5' gets at something very real: It's hard to keep kids off screens in summer

Listen · 4:01
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Friday

People are seen carrying two signs during a nighttime protest. One says, "Your priority is patients, not politics." The other says, "Practice medicine, not capitulation." The logo "NYU Langone Health" is displayed one of the buildings.

People in favor of healthcare for transgender youth march outside NYU Langone hospital in New York City in February 2025. Heather Khalifa/AP hide caption

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Heather Khalifa/AP

Trump's DOJ can't get names and medical files of trans youth in California, for now

Trump's Department of Justice is seeking patient files that include the names of young people who have been treated in transgender clinics, as well as hospital staff who have provided care.

DOJ blocked in CA from getting trans medical files

Listen · 3:29
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Monday

Thursday

The Girls: “This is my story to tell”

Embedded

The Girls: “This is my story to tell”

Alleged victims of the Stoners find each other online and band together to demand justice. But they run up against police and prosecutors who have different ideas than they do about the best path to accountability.

The Girls: “This is my story to tell”

Listen · 56:47
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Wednesday

A boy who appears to be elementary school aged, holds hands with a woman wearing a hijab, who holds hands with a man. They are walking in front of yellow police tape.

People hold hands near the scene of a shooting outside the Islamic Center of San Diego on Monday. Gregory Bull/AP hide caption

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Gregory Bull/AP

How to help children cope after shootings like the San Diego mosque killings

Children closest to an incident of gun violence have the most risk of lasting psychological effects. Here's what all parents should know about how to buffer trauma.

School children at San Diego mosque need support to process trauma of shooting

Listen · 3:31
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Thursday

The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?”

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The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?”

Allegations pile up, but Child Protective Services declines to investigate and the school district continues to promote Ronnie Stoner. 

The Girls: “This isn’t ringing alarms to y’all?”

Listen · 44:15
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Tuesday

More than a dozen handguns are shown hanging on a display wall. Most are black and most have a yellow tag attached to them.

A study estimates that 32 million children live in homes with firearms, and a significant portion of those guns are not stored safely. Here, handguns are displayed at Kittery Trading Post, in Kittery, Maine. Charles Krupa/AP hide caption

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Charles Krupa/AP

About 7 million kids live in a home with a loaded and unlocked gun, a study finds

The new study in JAMA Network Open also finds that more parents leave their guns loaded and unlocked when they have teenagers, despite the fact that suicide risk goes up for this age group.

About 7 million kids live in a home with a loaded and unlocked gun, a study finds

Listen · 2:24
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Wednesday

Dr. Yilai Shu examines a young patient at the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in China.

Dr. Yilai Shu examines a young patient at the Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University in China. Mass General Brigham hide caption

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Mass General Brigham

Health

Gene therapy for a rare type of deafness shows lasting results

Researchers say a gene therapy allowed deaf children and adults as old as 32 to hear for the first time. The benefits have persisted for more than two years for some patients.

Gene therapy for a rare type of deafness shows lasting results

Listen · 3:35
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Tuesday

This illustration shows a child holding a smartphone. Three app icons in a row show "cherry, cherry, lemon" — symbols that you might see on a slot machine.

What makes a person keep playing a video slot machine? Some of the same features that make children stay on social media apps or video games for too long. Paige Stampatori for NPR hide caption

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Paige Stampatori for NPR

Living Better

The surprising origin of 4 features that superglue kids — and adults — to screens

Taken together, these four features can create a trancelike state that can keep us stuck on social media apps or video games for hours. Children are particularly vulnerable.

The surprising origin of 4 features that superglue kids — and adults — to screens

Listen · 4:08
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Thursday

A woman at an abortion-rights protest in New York in 2023 holds a pregnancy test that's in a labeled box. She is wearing a green turtleneck sweater and is photographed from roughly her waist to her chin.

A woman at an abortion-rights protest in New York in 2023 holds a pregnancy test. The U.S. teen pregnancy rate in 2025 was 11.7 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, according to provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

Health

Teen birth rates hit another historical low in 2025, CDC says

The teen birth rate continues its decades-long downward trend. Researchers say many factors are at play, including less sexual activity and more access to contraception and abortion.

Teen birth rates hit another historical low in 2025, CDC says

Listen · 2:28
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Tuesday

Olga Urbina holds her 9-month-old son, Ares Webster, in a front-pack baby carrier at a protest in front of the Supreme Court building. Ares holds a small American flag. Another protester holds a sign that says, "American Born Children Are American Children."

Olga Urbina holds her 9-month-old son, Ares Webster, at a protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., in May 2025. Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images

Health

Babies are an afterthought in the birthright citizenship case, advocates say

An end to birthright citizenship would mean a new layer of bureaucracy for all babies born in the U.S. and could cause delays for health insurance and other benefits.

Babies are an afterthought in the birthright citizenship case, advocates say

Listen · 3:53
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Wednesday

An electron microscope image provided by the National Institutes of Health shows human respiratory syncytial virus virions, colorized blue, and antibodies against an RSV protein, colorized yellow.

An electron microscope image provided by the National Institutes of Health shows human respiratory syncytial virus virions, colorized blue, and antibodies against an RSV protein, colorized yellow. AP/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH hide caption

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AP/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH

Health

Doctors worry about FDA scrutiny of RSV shots to protect babies

The antibody shots are about 80% effective at preventing babies from ending up in intensive care because of RSV. The drugmakers behind them maintain they're safe.

Doctors worry about FDA scrutiny of RSV shots to protect babies

Listen · 3:52
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