The Kinders to College initiative by Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS), launched during the 2023–2024 academic year, aims to introduce college and career readiness to the youngest scholars in Federal Way. At the heart of the program, every kindergarten student can explore higher education by visiting a local Seattle college campus.

“I wanted to launch Kinders to College in FWPS because all scholars, from as early as kindergarten, should be aware of the college and career opportunities available to them,” stated Superintendent Dani Pfeiffer. “With repeated exposure to multiple post-secondary pathways, over time students will build an appetite for success,” she said, noting, “They’ll also know the avenues to take to get there.”

The program was part of a broader initiative that provides South King County students with college-related activities throughout the year. Devised as a component of Goal 5 of the district’s strategic plan, Persistence to Graduation: High School Graduation through Successful Transitions, the program aims to connect every student with successful transitions to prepare for post-secondary experiences.

As the academic year kicks off, parents and guardians across Seattle fill out last-minute paperwork, pack backpacks and lunch sacks, and remind countless children to set out their clothes the night before. While adults nudge children and teenagers to grab a sweater on their way out the door, many can forget to actively check in and stay engaged with their kids’ mental health.

“Adults often have trouble understanding what students are going through,” said Natalya McConnell, executive board director of the Seattle Student Union and senior at Franklin High School. “We have never had such a widespread pandemic, and this has isolated a lot of students,” she continued, adding that many students are still in a state of crisis. That the past three years have been difficult for students to navigate is largely understood; Seattle recently approved a $4.5 million investment in the Student Mental Health Supports pilot.

A trending TikTok video posted by Max Areeg shows two parents preparing for their son's birthday. The couple in the video playfully blew up balloons, hung decorations together, and the video ends with one tossing a pillow at the other. If it wasn't spelled out, one would never know that the couple was in the middle of a divorce. Areeg is seen on her soon-to-be ex-husband's shoulders, rubbing balloons onto his hair to generate static electricity to cling the balloons to the ceiling. The laughter and fun times shown are certainly not the common narratives of modern divorce.

I can attest to the necessary ingredients of a successful co-parenting relationship, having co-parented for more than eight years. Co-parenting is always a shared journey, whether it is a 50/50 split, or like mine, more of an 85/15. Separated parents who still have to child-rear together need healthy communication, plenty of patience, and the establishment of clear boundaries.

Hate and bigotry apparently don't just trickle down, they can rise up as well. Tianna Bastien, a mom and TikTok-er under the handle @thecuratedlobe, lives just outside of Toronto. She recently shared with Parents that the ongoing escalation of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation and the anti-gay climate rising in the states have had the impact of empowering bigoted voices and are increasing hateful anti-gay sentiments and rhetoric in Canada.

Bastien's newest TikTok features her children and a friend attending the Drag and Brunch show at CommunityResto. "I decided that the voiceover that I was going to do for the video was going to take a sarcastic tone to highlight how ridiculous people who are against drag queens are actually sounding."

On February 13, 2022, South Dakota became the latest state to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Governor Kristi Noem signed HB1080 into law, making the South Dakota bill the first legislation passed in the country that calls for forced medical detransition of trans youth currently receiving care. Taking effect on July 1, medical practitioners providing hormone therapy to minors will have to terminate care immediately or systematically reduce all care to end no later than December 31. If they don't comply, they risk getting their professional license revoked.

This law places trans youth at risk for both self-harm, as shown by record high rates of suicide, as well as abuse or assault from others. The Trevor Project reports nearly 1 in 5 transgender and nonbinary youth attempted suicide. And according to the Human Rights Campaign, at least 34 transgender and gender non-conforming people were killed in the U.S. in 2022.

The type 2 diabetes drug, Ozempic, has become a household name for weight loss because of social media. Here's what you should know about this dangerous trend and example of toxic diet culture.

Social media trends come and go, and sadly, so do weight loss trends. Allied Market Research valued weight loss sales in 2019 at $192.2 billion, with projections set to reach $295.3 billion by 2027. The diabetic medication Ozempic, developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, is currently making headway in the weight loss category with an average retail price of over a $1,000 a month for the weekly injection.

Jellyfish parenting is back in according to social media trends and is battling for top parenting style next to tiger and dolphin parents. So, what is a jellyfish parent?

Writer Emma Brockes calls the style "boneless, diaphanous and endlessly flexible." Kristene Geering, director of education at Parent Lab, describes it as "practicing the art of really tuning into your kid." The Internet warned me that jellyfish parenting is "too permissive" and can lead your confused children into nefarious activity and promiscuity. That's quite the range! So what does it mean to be a jellyfish parent?

For the first 3 years of my son's life, I lived in a rural area where community was hard to come by. Like many, I sought out connection with other new moms and parents online, from mom groups to focused mom pages that featured writer moms, artist moms ,and moms who work. Mothers filled pages across screens with acronyms I did not know yet: AI, BD, NIP—all the letters that made me thankful Google existed. They shared stories, they shared problems, and, at times, openly shared judgment.

In my early years of being a first-time parent and a new mom, I realized something else was happening to my mental health and stress levels from certain online spaces. I was seeing and comparing myself, my child, our experience and our lives to other people. I had found myself in toxic online spaces.

A 2019 petition "Demand a same-sex parent family on Peppa Pig" has finally come to fruition, as this week in Britain the episode "Families" aired the first "two Mummy" household on Peppa Pig. This is a first for the popular children's TV show that for over 18 years, 6 series and 250 episodes has largely centered around Peppa Pig's four-person, heteronormative family.

Kate McKinnon joined Colin Jost on Weekend Update to comment on Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' Bill, HB1557, as it passed its final state Senate committee last week.

McKinnon sets up the segment with blissful ignorance, "I heard about this law, and I think it's amazing!" She spins to her middle school experience and the impact of hearing "that's so gay" or "ew, you're gay," exclaiming how wonderful it is that Ron Desantis has taken a stand to say "No, you cannot say gay in school anymore."