What I Spent to Adopt My Child

Three families share their adoption stories, illuminating the variety of choices — and costs — involved in the process. By David Dodge. Published Feb. 11, 2020. The New York Times This piece is part of “The Price of Modern Parenting.” Read about the sandwich generation, caring for aging relatives and out-of-pocket expenses for preterm births. Each adoption process shares the same ultimate purpose: … Continue reading What I Spent to Adopt My Child →

Why the New Coronavirus (Mostly) Spares Children

So far, very few young children seem to be falling ill. The pattern was seen in outbreaks of SARS and MERS, too. By Apoorva Mandavilli. The New York Times. Feb. 5, 2020. The new coronavirus has infected more than 28,000 people, and at least 563 have died. But relatively few children appear to have developed … Continue reading Why the New Coronavirus (Mostly) Spares Children →

How Monkeys Taught Me to Appreciate Teen Sleepovers

One of our chief jobs as parents is to encourage our kids to make and maintain strong friendships. It is one of the skills they will need most in life. By Lydia Denworth. The New York Times. Feb. 4, 2020. “Can we have a sleepover?” Barring anything involving fire, blood or hospitals, these five words … Continue reading How Monkeys Taught Me to Appreciate Teen Sleepovers →

Helping Teenagers With Menstrual Pain

Painful periods are common around the world but, with treatment, should not cause a teenager to miss school, sports or social outings. By Perri Klass, M.D. The New York Times. Feb. 3, 2020 Period-related pain, medically known as dysmenorrhea, colloquially often called “cramps,” should not prevent an adolescent from participating fully in school, in … Continue reading Helping Teenagers With Menstrual Pain →

Who Killed the Knapp Family?

Across America, working-class people — including many of our friends — are dying of despair. And we’re still blaming the wrong people. By Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The New York Times Mr. Kristof is an Opinion columnist. Ms. WuDunn is a business consultant. YAMHILL, Ore. — Chaos reigned daily on the No. 6 school bus, with working-class boys … Continue reading Who Killed the Knapp Family? →

Giving Birth Where the Family Is

Canada’s government once pressured Inuit women to travel south to give birth. Now, they can have their babies at a hometown maternity clinic led by Inuit midwives. Photographs by Amber Bracken Written by Amber Bracken and Megan Specia The New York Times. Jan. 5, 2020 INUKJUAK, Quebec — The woman’s moans of pain mingled with the intermittent beeping of … Continue reading Giving Birth Where the Family Is →

Opioid Deaths Rise When Auto Plants Close, Study Shows

Research found 85 percent more deaths among those of prime working age in places where car factories closed compared with where they stayed open. By Niraj Chokshi The New York Times. Dec. 30, 2019 The last two decades have brought both a sharp decline in automaking jobs in the United States and the rise of … Continue reading Opioid Deaths Rise When Auto Plants Close, Study Shows →

‘I’m Kidnapped’: A Father’s Nightmare on the Border

A father was tortured in front of his 3-year-old son until his wife in New Jersey paid $2,000 to his captors. Chilling audio of the negotiations for his release shows how migrants, turned back by the U.S., are facing new dangers in Mexico. By Miriam Jordan The New York Times. Dec. 21, 2019 REYNOSA, Mexico — … Continue reading ‘I’m Kidnapped’: A Father’s Nightmare on the Border →

Among the World’s Most Dire Places: This California Homeless Camp

By THOMAS FULLER and JOSH HANER . Dec. 17, 2019 The New York Times This morning, my colleagues Thomas Fuller and Josh Haner published a piece they’ve been working on for months. It’s an expansive, visual portrait of a sprawling homeless encampment in Oakland. Thomas wrote this dispatch about one of the people he met: Of the dozens of people we interviewed at an … Continue reading Among the World’s Most Dire Places: This California Homeless Camp →

An L.G.B.T.Q. Pregnancy, From D.I.Y. to I.V.F.

Our absurd, occasionally maddening, and ultimately successful path to parenthood. By Clara Moskowitz The New York Times. Dec. 11, 2019 The advent of the birth-control pill around 1960 liberated sex from reproduction and, in doing so, helped spark a sexual revolution. And it was no less a revolution when science learned to do the opposite: liberate … Continue reading An L.G.B.T.Q. Pregnancy, From D.I.Y. to I.V.F. →