Articles about Child

The new rules are the first major change to the country’s laws governing child-rearing in more than a centuryDivorced couples in Japan will be able to negotiate joint custody of their children from Wednesday, in the first major change to the country’s laws governing child-rearing in more than a century.Previously, Japan’s Civil Code required couples to decide which parent would take custody of their children when they divorce. Continue reading...

Publisher’s lawsuit alleges AI research company’s chatbot violated its copyright over Coconut the Little Dragon seriesPublishing company Penguin Random House has filed a lawsuit against AI research company OpenAI, alleging its chatbot ChatGPT violated copyright by mimicking and reproducing the content of a popular series of German children’s books.The lawsuit, which was filed on Friday with a Munich court against OpenAI’s Ireland-based European subsidiary, states Penguin Random House’s legal team had prompted ChatGPT to write a story in the vein of Penguin author and illustrator Ingo Siegner’s Coconut the Little Dragon series. Continue reading...

Robert Morris, who started Gateway church, pleaded guilty in October to sexually abusing girl in the 1980sThe founder and former pastor of one of the US’s largest megachurches has been released from an Oklahoma jail six months after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl in the 1980s.Robert Morris, 64, who started Texas’s Gateway church and also once served as a White House spiritual adviser during Donald Trump’s first presidency, pleaded guilty in early October in Osage county district court on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Continue reading...

One twin wanted to take parental responsibility from the other for child P after both had sex with child’s motherA woman who had sex with identical twins within four days of each other is unable to ensure one of them takes parental responsibility because it is “not possible” to know which is the father, the court of appeal has said.One of the twins was registered as the father on the birth certificate of the child, referred to as P. His identical twin, along with the mother, sought to take over parental responsibility by asking the court of appeal to overturn a previous family court decision. Continue reading...

National Education Union poll finds 89% feel class sizes in England are too big to be ‘properly inclusive’Oversized classes and inadequate staffing levels are hindering teachers’ capacity to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send), according to a large survey of state school teachers in England.Nine out of 10 (89%) of the 10,000 teachers who took part in the poll by the National Education Union (NEU), before its annual conference in Brighton which starts on Monday, said class sizes were too big to be “properly inclusive”. Continue reading...

Raw Farm was also linked to 2024 salmonella outbreak that sickened 165 people and deaths of two cats from bird fluA California raw milk dairy that was previously linked to a fatal outbreak of bird flu in cats has now been linked to an E coli outbreak involving cheddar cheese, affecting nine people in three states.The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in an alert that more than half of the people sickened so far are children under age five. Three people have been hospitalized after contracting a dangerous strain of E coli – O157:H7 – with one developing hemolytic uremic syndrome, a condition that can lead to kidney failure. Continue reading...

From 6 April, low-income families can claim universal credit payments for all children living in the householdThe two-child benefit policy has been described as a “cap on childhood” and as it comes to an end, Claire* hopes to throw a birthday party for her son.It is a celebration most children may take for granted, but Claire and her partner run out of money at the end of every month, skipping meals so that their three children can eat. Her son, now in his final year at primary school, has never had a party. Continue reading...

• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed an E. coli outbreak with illnesses in several states including Texas and Florida, over half affecting children under age 5 as of March 27, 2026. • Three people hospitalized and one developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a dangerous kidney infection, amid ongoing investigations into the source. • The outbreak underscores vulnerabilities in food safety systems, particularly for young children, prompting heightened surveillance and public alerts.

Prime minister says government needs to show it is on families’ side as new screen-time guidance launched• UK politics live – latest updatesKeir Starmer has promised a “fight” with social media firms amid efforts to limit children’s use of mobile phones, tablets and TVs, as new official guidance recommends children under five spend no more than an hour a day on screens.The guidance, developed by a panel led by the children’s commissioner, Rachel de Souza and children’s health expert Prof Russell Viner, advises screen time for children under two should be avoided other than for shared activities. Continue reading...

About 38% of children in London live in relative poverty, compared with 29% in England as a wholeLondon has England’s highest levels of child poverty and most extreme concentrations of hardship, data has revealed. In two boroughs more than half of children live below the breadline.In Britain, child poverty rates flatlined in 2024-25 compared with the previous year. About 4 million youngsters (27%) live in households earning less than 60% of the national median income after housing costs are taken into account. Continue reading...

Prime minister says UK must do more to regulate against potential harms after landmark ruling in US courtSir Keir Starmer has said he will tackle “addictive features” in social media amid increasing signs the UK government is preparing to crackdown on risks to children after a landmark US court verdict which held Meta and YouTube responsible for harms caused by designing addictive technology.The prime minister said the verdict in a California court signals a rising public expectation for more aggressive regulation and said: “I’m absolutely clear that we need to go further.” Continue reading...

European Commission says social messaging app is exposing children to grooming and sexual exploitationBrussels has opened an investigation into Snapchat over concerns that the social messaging app is exposing children to grooming, sexual exploitation and other criminality.In a separate decision on Thursday, the European Commission also said four pornographic websites were failing to prevent minors seeing adult content. Continue reading...

Guatemalan nationals Angelina Lopez Jimenez and Wendy Godinez Lopez, nine, were apprehended en route to MiamiSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxImmigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers targeted a mother and her child at San Francisco international airport for arrest after TSA agents tipped them off, according to a report from the New York Times.The report, which cites federal documents, adds a new dimension to the arrest by ICE officers that went viral this week, casting new scrutiny on the Trump administration’s information-sharing agreements that critics say are leading to more indiscriminate immigration arrests. Continue reading...

• A study analyzing electronic health records from nearly 4 million pediatric hospital admissions from 2016 to 2023 found that 18% of deaths among hospitalized children in the US were linked to sepsis. • Sepsis emerged as a leading cause of mortality in this large dataset, highlighting ongoing challenges in early detection and treatment in pediatric care. • The findings underscore the need for improved sepsis protocols in US hospitals to reduce preventable child deaths, as rates remain significant despite medical advances.

New Mexico hails ‘historic’ win after jury finds firm misled consumers over safety and enabled harm against usersA New Mexico jury on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay $375m in civil penalties after it found the company misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and enabled harm, including child sexual exploitation, against its users.This is the first bench trial to find Meta liable for acts committed on its platform. Continue reading...

I Swear’s Kirk Jones set to direct film based on the 1970s cult animation about a ‘very ordinary man’ who accessed different worlds via a magical fancy dress shopA live-action film based on the cult British kids’ cartoon Mr Benn is to go into production with I Swear director Kirk Jones at the helm.Mr Benn first appeared on TV on the BBC in 1971, in a series created by David McKee, who died in 2022. The series followed the adventures of “a very ordinary man who could do extraordinary things” when he visited a magical fancy dress shop, which acted as a portal to different worlds. Only 13 episodes were made before the series ended in March 1972, though a one-off episode was broadcast in 2005 on the kids’ channel Nick Jr. Continue reading...

Researchers say lack of sleep could be a factor among young people interacting online for more than three hours a dayChildren who are on social media for more than three hours a day are more likely to develop depression and anxiety as teenagers, according to research.Experts said the impact was likely to be linked to a lack of sleep caused by using social media late at night, and that the link to depression was more pronounced in girls. Continue reading...

Cause of the fire that killed Pierce, who had covered the Minnesota hockey team for a decade, is under investigationNHL reporter Jessi Pierce and her three children were killed on Saturday in a weekend house fire in Minnesota, the league announced on its sports website Sunday.Pierce, 37, covered the Minnesota Wild as the correspondent for NHL.com for the past decade. Continue reading...

Her husband, 19 Kids and Counting’s Joseph Duggar, was recently charged in separate case with lewd behavior against a childArkansas police have arrested Kendra Duggar, the wife of reality TV personality Joseph Duggar, on misdemeanor child abuse charges, in the latest scandal to envelop the family featured on TLC’s 19 Kids and Counting.Kendra Duggar faces four counts each of endangering the welfare of a minor and second-degree false imprisonment, according to the Washington county sheriff’s office in Arkansas. She has a hearing scheduled for Monday. Continue reading...

‘Problem-solving’, child-focused courts to replace adversarial hearings, with earlier intervention to cut delaysFamily courts are “not good enough” and have treated women and children unfairly for decades, a government minister has said.Announcing a major overhaul of the family justice system in England and Wales that will play a central role in “rebalancing” the family courts, Alison Levitt said often brutal legal showdowns will be replaced with a “problem-solving”, child-focused model. Continue reading...

• Common PFAS 'forever chemicals' exposure linked to reduced bone density in children, potentially causing lifelong skeletal weakness. • Peer-reviewed study from The Endocrine Society shows early-life contamination disrupts bone development before adulthood. • Prevalent in U.S. water supplies and consumer products, PFAS affect 99% of Americans, raising public health alarms per CDC data.

Dozens of volunteers, mostly over the age of 70, offer rides and serve as interpretersSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxOn a February afternoon at a Spanish-immersion childcare center in Minneapolis, dozens of toddlers grabbed puffy coats out of cubbies as parents shuffled them out the door.Down the hall, Michael, the husband of the center’s director, stared intently at a monitor streaming the building’s security footage, watching for any vehicles that might be carrying agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since January, when federal agents descended on the Twin Cities as part of Operation Metro Surge, he’s been leaving his own job early to volunteer here every afternoon. Continue reading...

Duggar, 31, was taken into custody in Arkansas and was awaiting extradition to Florida, where he faces the chargeFormer reality TV star Joseph Duggar is facing a child molestation charge in Florida, almost five years after his brother Josh, who also starred in the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Arkansas, where he lives, and was awaiting extradition to Florida on Thursday. Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior toward a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay county sheriff’s office in Panama City, Florida. Continue reading...

Dozens said they weren’t given chance to arrange care for their kids after being deported at short notice, study showsThe Trump administration is deporting a significant number of parents without asking them if they have children or allowing them to decide whether to bring their children with them, in apparent violation of its own policies, a major report has found.In interviews with dozens of parents deported to Honduras, as well as physicians and psychologists, government officials and staff at reception centers for deportees, researchers found that many parents were deported quickly after they were detained, without a chance to arrange for the care of their children. Continue reading...

Gia Lam should have been offered interpreter by medical team at Fairfield hospital, coroner’s court findsFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastA woman who died of sepsis three days after giving birth in western Sydney could have survived if her urinary tract infection (UTI) had been diagnosed, a coroner’s court has found.It also found the woman, who was born in Vietnam, should have been offered interpreter services so she could communicate better with medical experts. Continue reading...

Psychologists at Cardiff University and King’s College London compared children given dolls to those given a video gamesPlaying along with dolls can help boys and girls develop more sophisticated imaginations and better social skills, compared with children who play on electronic devices, according to research.Psychologists at Cardiff University and King’s College London found that children given dolls gained a richer appreciation of other people’s beliefs and feelings, in contrast to those given a tablet loaded with video games. Continue reading...

Tory leader says US president’s words ‘completely wrong’ as she tries to distance herself from his war on IranKemi Badenoch has called Donald Trump’s repeated criticisms of Keir Starmer “childish”, as the Conservative leader continued her recent moves to distance herself from the US president and his military action against Iran.Speaking shortly before Trump yet again singled out Starmer for condemnation to say the prime minister had not been sufficiently supportive of the US war, Badenoch used a social media video to describe Trump’s actions as counterproductive. Continue reading...

• A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Monday to block Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent changes to the nation's childhood vaccine schedule, following a lawsuit by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups. • The plaintiffs argued that Kennedy's alterations to vaccine recommendations and the influential vaccine advisory committee violated federal law, marking a significant setback to his health policy agenda. • This ruling highlights ongoing tensions between the Department of Health and Human Services and medical organizations over public health guidelines and federal compliance.