Family and parenting

Some playgrounds are perfectly fine; others are practically theme parks. This list is the latter — the destination playgrounds worth packing up the car and making a day of it.

Black youth suicide rates increased 144% from 2007 to 2020, with data showing that Black LGBTQ+ youth are particularly at risk, according to a new report from the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at Johns Hopkins.

The inevitability of dropping both daughters off at college didn't make coming to terms with an empty nest any easier, writer and filmmaker Charles Cohen says.

Corporate representatives say the McHenry Row store in the 1800 block of Whetstone Way will resume operations Thursday at 7 a.m. after a 'thorough mitigation process.'

Advocates say it’s a step in the right direction, but more work is needed. Nine percent of all newborns exposed to alcohol or drugs were removed from their parents in 2020, compared to 6% in 2022.

LGBTQ community members in Maryland said they are stunned and disappointed by the Maryland Supreme Court’s 4-3 ruling, which exposed a loophole in Maryland laws originally meant to protect employees against discrimination.

A series of improvements to Maryland’s child care scholarship system are easing the administrative burden that once plagued day care providers. But challenges remain.

I’ve watched with a sense of loss this summer as Hillsmere Elementary School dissolved into a dusty pile of brick-and-concrete rubble, bent-steel framing and broken rebar.

The emergency suspension at Baltimore Montessori may be a harbinger of a growing crisis in the child care industry that often struggles to pay the bills and doesn’t have enough willing and qualified workers.

Zachary Grant, a father who has collected Black versions of Holiday Barbie for his daughter for 30 years, says the collection offers lessons about family tradition and the importance of representation for African American girls.

Readers express a range of viewpoints about topics including fatherhood, family, race and social media in response to Leslie Gray Streeter’s column about reaction to Mayor Brandon Scott and his girlfriend expecting a child.

As the value of college is increasingly questioned, higher education remains vital to providing opportunities to students from low-income households, Boyd Bradshaw, Towson University’s vice president of enrollment management, says.

Morgan State University’s new Center for Urban Violence and Crime Reduction will engage all segments of Baltimore as it seeks answers for addressing the “carnage” from gun violence in the city, says Anna McPhatter, dean of Morgan’s School of Social Work and director of the center.

As the nation marks Disability Pride Month, Gregory Miller, president and chief executive officer of Penn-Mar Human Services, talks about his work on behalf of people with disabilities.

CSX, T. Rowe Price and Under Armour are demonstrating ways to help turn Baltimore around through investment and engagement, Christopher B. Summers, president and chief executive officer of the Maryland Public Policy Institute, says.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott shared some good news on Friday morning — he and his girlfriend, Hana Pugh, are expecting a baby in early 2024.

Gun violence such as the recent mass shooting in South Baltimore has a lasting effect on how many Baltimore young people view their lives and their community, says Adam Schwartz, an author who has taught high school in Baltimore for 25 years.

Advocates announced that a new board of trustees chaired by Taylor Smith, the former head of school, will take over.

When finished, the revamped 17-acre park will include a multipurpose field, a new softball diamond with regulation-sized walls in right field, and new basketball and pickleball courts.

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidance calling for earlier interventions to help prevent kids from developing diabetes, high blood pressure and other potentially devastating conditions.