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The U.S. Infant Mortality Rate Fell to an All-Time Low. That’s Still Worse Than Other Nations
The Los Angeles Times reported:
Infant mortality in the U.S. dropped to a new all-time low in 2025, according to preliminary government data. There were slightly fewer than 5.4 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
While that appears to be only a small decline from about 5.5 in 2024 and 5.6 in the two years preceding, researchers say it is statistically meaningful and translates to hundreds fewer infant deaths per year. It’s difficult to pinpoint what’s driving the recent developments, but “this is an encouraging data point, and we hope that this trend will continue,” said Dr. Michael Warren, chief medical and health officer for the March of Dimes.
Infant mortality is the measure of how many babies die before reaching their first birthday. Because the number of babies born in the U.S. varies year to year, researchers calculate rates to compare infant mortality over time.
CDC Warns Mishandling of Powdered Formula Can Lead to Serious Disease
People should be careful when using powdered infant formula, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new paper. An infant contracted Legionnaires’ disease, a serious pneumonia caused by inhaling or aspiration of Legionella bacteria, researchers with the CDC, the Maryland Department of Health, and Georgetown University Hospital’s Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases said in the paper, which was published on June 18 by the CDC’s quasi-journal.
The 9-month-old girl was admitted to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington in October 2025 with a serious condition called juvenile idiopathic arthritis macrophage activation syndrome but improved with treatment and was discharged after approximately three weeks.
After returning home, the infant was fed powdered infant formula that was prepared using a mixing device, which holds water and powdered formula and can quickly prepare warm formula that has no clumps and is ready to drink. The girl was taken to the hospital again on Nov. 17, 2025. She was suffering from fever, abnormal breathing, and chest retractions. Testing came back positive for Legionella bacteria.
Infant Formula Brands Behind Botulism Outbreaks Used Same Organic Whole Milk Supplier
Food Safety Magazine reported:
According to industry sources and confirmed by Food Fix, Nara Organics and ByHeart Nutrition Inc. used a common supplier of powdered whole milk in their infant formula products, which have sickened dozens of infants in two botulism outbreaks that occurred within months of each other.
While ByHeart is manufactured in-house at the company’s own domestic production facilities, Nara Organics is manufactured by a German company, Milchwerke Mittelelbe GmbH (Elb-Milch), a subsidiary of the Krüger Group. By the time that the Nara Organics outbreak was identified in June 2026, the brand and its manufacturer had begun using an EU-based organic dairy supplier.
But between October 2024 and April 2025, Nara Organics was using the same whole milk supplier as ByHeart: Organic West milk dried by Dairy Farmers of America (DFA). Some of the Nara formula products containing DFA-processed milk was still on the market when details of the ByHeart outbreak began to surface.
Youth Who Acquire Smartphones at 13 Years of Age More Likely to Face Health Issues
Youth acquiring a smartphone at 13 years of age had an increased risk for insufficient sleep but not for depression or obesity at 14 years of age. However, those who used a smartphone for extended durations exceeding 5 hours per day had higher odds of all three health outcomes.
Placing smartphones outside the bedroom at bedtime was associated with a reduced risk for sleep insufficiency. Researchers conducted a cohort analysis of 1959 youth (41.0% girls; 84.8% White individuals) who did not own a smartphone until they were 13 years old to assess the link between smartphone acquisition at approximately 13 years of age and health outcomes.
The data were collected from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study across 21 sites in the US. Between the 3-year (mean age, 12.7 years) and 4-year (mean age, 14.0 years) assessments, 1230 participants acquired a smartphone and 729 did not.
Infant Screen Exposure Linked to Lower Future Working Memory
A new study has demonstrated that the timing of childhood screen exposure is just as critical to long-term cognitive development as the total volume of daily viewing hours. Collaborating neuroscientists and pediatric researchers monitored 502 children over nearly a decade, evaluating screen habits at six distinct intervals between ages 1 and 8.
The data revealed that elevated screen use during infancy (age 1) and around formal school-entry (age 6) consistently predicted lower academic performance at age 9 and demonstrably weaker working memory capacity at age 10.5. Conversely, screen use at ages 2 and 3 did not yield statistically significant long-term academic correlations, isolating early infancy and school-entry as vulnerable developmental windows.
The data revealed that elevated screen use during infancy (age 1) and around formal school-entry (age 6) consistently predicted lower academic performance at age 9 and demonstrably weaker working memory capacity at age 10.5. Conversely, screen use at ages 2 and 3 did not yield statistically significant long-term academic correlations, isolating early infancy and school-entry as vulnerable developmental windows.
How 30 Minutes of Recess Could Change How Your Child Learns
The Los Angeles Times reported:
At 10:30 a.m., the bell rings through the halls of William F. Prisk Elementary School in Long Beach, sending students racing onto the playground, throwing basketballs, doing cartwheels, gliding down slides. Recess could very well be the most important 30 minutes of their school day for learning — and it has become a contested period for the nation’s youngest students. Teachers use it as a behavioral bargaining chip, administrators weigh playtime against sagging test scores and researchers argue over how best to structure the minutes.
The debate over recess has grown so confusing that recently the American Academy of Pediatrics stepped in and updated its policy statement. Play is not a reward, a privilege or wasted learning time. It is a developmental necessity.
California made recess the law beginning in the 2023-24 school year, requiring at least 30 minutes of playtime daily for K-6 students and banning teachers and staff from taking it away as punishment. However researchers say there is not a process to evaluate whether schools are fully adhering to the mandate.
After Social Media Ban, AI Bans Could Be Next for School Kids
Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming part of everyday life, and that includes classrooms. Students are turning to tools like ChatGPT for homework, research, writing assistance, and even basic questions. But a growing number of educators, researchers, and policymakers are questioning whether introducing children to AI at such a young age could do more harm than good.
Norway appears to agree. The country has announced a near-total ban on generative AI tools for elementary school students, arguing that children need to develop fundamental reading, writing, and math skills without relying on AI. The move could become an early sign of a broader trend, especially as governments around the world take a tougher stance on children’s use of technology.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the government is concerned that AI could cause younger students to skip important stages of learning. The administration argues that reading, writing, and mathematics should remain the primary focus during a child’s early education. That said, Norway is not completely shutting the door on AI in education. Under the new guidance, students aged 6 to 13 should generally not use generative AI tools, while those between 14 and 16 may use them under teacher supervision. Students in upper secondary education, aged 17 to 19, will be taught how to use AI responsibly so they are better prepared for higher education and the workplace.
