Children

The Annie E. Casey Foundation's annual Kids Count report ranked Iowa 9th overall in the nation, but one expert warns Iowa's high ranking can be misleading.

Federal health officials have given the green light to vaccinate children ages 6 months to 4 years against COVID-19, and experts are urging parents to get their young children vaccinated as soon as possible.

Children's book experts share reading recommendations for children of all ages.

Charity Nebbe discusses the best new books for children and young adults with Amanda Lepper of Dog Eared Books in Ames, Becky Preston of the Des Moines Public Library, and Iowa City teacher/librarian Devin Redmond.

As more refugee children from Afghanistan settle in Iowa, a woman noticed one of the items they most lacked was toys. Here's the story of what she’s doing to change that.

Rep. Ann Meyer of Fort Dodge and Rep. Tracy Ehlert from Cedar Rapids join IPR state government reporter Katarina Sostaric and host Ben Kieffer to discuss bills addressing Iowa's child care issues. Before that, a conversation with a Des Moines parent about her struggles to find affordable child care and how the workforce shortage is connected to these issues.

Dr. William Ching of St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids joins Charity Nebbe to discuss the latest studies on COVID-19 and children. They also discuss strategies for handling a positive case and the differences between rapid and PCR tests. Plus, a conversation with Brittany Peacock of the the Davenport Public Library, which became the first library in Iowa to hire a full-time social worker.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds called solving the child care shortage a priority in last year's Condition of the State address. What's being done to add more slots for families?

Devin Redmond, Amanda Lepper and Louise White join host Charity Nebbe to talk about their top book choices for kids and young adults this holiday season.

An Iowa organization will bring culturally-specific training for the first time to Latino service providers in the state. Organizers said it’s a way to prevent cases of childhood trauma and domestic violence.