Free Republic

A Texas mother has been arrested and charged for allegedly buying ammunition and tactical gear for her son's planned "mass targeted violence" at his middle school, officials said. Ashley Pardo, 33, was arrested on Monday and charged with aiding in commission of terrorism after she allegedly provided ammunition and tactical gear to her son, whose behavior demonstrated plans for a "mass targeted violence" aimed at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, according to an affidavit obtained by ABC News.

Annabel, who spent two months in the French capital with her 15-month-old daughter and husband, shared what she noticed about parenting culture in France compared to the U.S. in a reel on Instagram. "Overall, I felt that French culture was a lot more laid back and that French society put less pressure on moms to be or act a certain way," she told Newsweek. "At home, I find there is this constant pressure to 'do more' for our kids—more activities, more toys, more classes...overstimulation is everywhere… Annabel's first observation was that French parents naturally include their children in their daily...

Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of tension and fear when dealing with numbers or performing calculations. It is a common form of academic anxiety: according to an OECD report, around 40% of students feel nervous, helpless or anxious in everyday situations involving mathematics, such as solving problems or doing math homework. We know that mathematics anxiety is present from the first years of primary school, and it interferes with both mathematics performance and mathematics learning. However, the origins of mathematics anxiety are less clear. Our new research, conducted in collaboration between the universities of Bologna, Trieste and Macerata in Italy...

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman was found dead last week at age 95. Following news of his death, a resurfaced 2001 interview with James Lipton for Inside the Actors Studio began making the rounds on social media. A clip of the interview focuses on the lasting pain Hackman suffered when his father abandoned the family. Lipton asked Hackman how old he was when his father left. Hackman replied, “I was about 13 I guess. I was down the street playing with some guys, and he drove by and kind of waved and that was it.” Hackman appeared to get choked up...

The Danish government has announced that Greenlandic families will no longer be required to undergo the ‘forældrekompetenceundersøgelse’ (FKU), a parental competency test used to determine whether parents are deemed fit to raise their children. While the test is reportedly easy to pass, it poses significant challenges for Greenlanders who are not fluent in Danish and includes cultural biases. Children can be removed from their parents if they fail the test. The test assesses parents on various aspects of their lives, including how they react to certain situations, their self-perception, whether they have any physical or mental health issues, their outlook...

The Three Investigators is a series of children’s mystery novels that many members of Generation X, including myself, grew up with. They’ve been out of print in the U.S. for decades. But now, all 10 of the books that were written by series creator Robert Arthur are back in print, in paperback.

Two years ago my 9 year old daughter caught me moving the “Elf on the Shelf” around. So I told her the truth that it has been me. But I asked her would you rather not known the truth and continue to have daddy move the elf? She was thoughtful. Now 2 years later we spent Christmas out of the country and it was too difficult to set up presents for the favorite daughter. So I told Santa could not find us and we’d have to work it out after Christmas. Now it is after Christmas and she’s asking. I...

… I’ve never been much for the “boy-mom” thing. Beyond the obvious gender-politics ick, it’s part of what I think of as bumper-sticker culture: the labeling and characterizing of every surface of our lives, for, I guess, fun. Very childish behavior. Making my kids’ putative gender identities a badge that I wear alongside my own? Why is this cute? Anyway, I’ve tried to raise my sons in a spirit of loving gender agnosticism if not neutrality, while of course honoring their passion for trucks, the NFL, and bag-tagging each other at every opportunity. We had a good gentle run, but...

Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has faced multiple lawsuits for allegedly infringing on religious liberty during his time as Minnesota governor. Walz encountered legal challenges for lockdown policies that religious organizations argued were discriminatory, placing stricter requirements on churches than businesses. He also encountered pushback after signing a law that stripped faith-based schools of funding for a program that offers free college credits to high school students. Walz determined in a May 13, 2020, executive order that retailers would be allowed to reopen at 50% capacity, but left religious gatherings capped at ten people. After Catholic and Lutheran churches...

Reading for fun sharply declines around age nine in an alarming trend that coincides with years of learning loss since the pandemic, data shows. Only 35% of nine-year-olds are reading at least five days a week compared to 57% of eight-year-olds, according to the latest Scholastic survey on the issue. “The number of kids who say they love reading drops significantly from 40% among eight-year-olds to 28% among nine-year-olds,” the Scholastic report notes. The trend, dubbed the “decline by nine” has concerned researchers, who note that reaching reading proficiency by third grade is a good predictor of academic success. [snip]...

A Long Island couple was indicted on manslaughter charges after their toddler allegedly overdosed on their drug stash – as the local prosecutor called for new laws to prevent similar tragedies. Wilkens Adonis and Daryllee Leibrock, both 38, had already faced a litany of drug and weapons charges after the Jan. 3 death of 14-month-old Joseph Adonis, who was killed by a lethal cocktail of cocaine, fentanyl and heroin. But on Monday, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney announced a superseding indictment that formally charged the Holbrook couple in the child’s death. SNIP “How many more innocent children must die...

A mom brought her six-year-old daughter into the office with a fever and a sore throat. I asked the little girl to open her mouth and say “Ah.” She shook her head and clenched her mouth shut. “Mom, it looks like I’m going to need your help here," I said. "Could you please ask your daughter to open her mouth and say ‘Ah’?” Mom arched her eyebrows and replied, “Her body, her choice.” Wow. This mom was invoking the “My body, my choice” slogan of abortion-rights activists to defend her 6-year-old daughter's refusal to let me, the doctor, look at...

A new book by economist Melissa Kearney makes a readily apparent but still-provocative argument: Children raised by two married parents do better than children raised by single parents. The difference, Kearney argues, isn’t just financial (although the money matters a lot); the “two-parent privilege,” as her book calls it, is also about parental time investment and familial stability. The problem with the point she makes — and with the firestorm of discussion it’s touched off on the left and the right — is that there are many things that are statistically better for us, but if those things are not...

It seems as though the difficulties of teaching elementary school never end for teachers. Between lesson planning, keeping a group of children together and quiet in the hallways, and dealing with parent complaints, the job is certainly not for the weak. However, it may be more challenging now than ever as diaper changing is added to many kindergarten teachers' ever-growing list of responsibilities. Kindergarten teachers are realizing that most of their students were never potty trained. Many teachers are asking themselves, why now? Up until recently, kindergarten students were fully potty-trained and had been for years, with the exception of...

Georgia parents were arrested for child abuse and negligence after their starving 10-year-old son was found wandering their neighborhood looking for a grocery store where he could beg for food. They said the boy was intentionally starved and weighed only about 36 pounds when he was rescued, nearly the weight of an average 4-year-old. The parents were accused of locking the child inside his bedroom and leaving him alone in the home for “extended periods of time, and on multiple occasions, with no access to lights, food, clothing or adult interaction and/or assistance,” according to court documents. They also allegedly...

Tributes have been paid by 'heartbroken' friends to a TikTok famous mum-of-two who died suddenly after experiencing several months of migraines and 'bouts of illness'Tributes have been paid to a TikTok star who died suddenly after suffering from migraines and "bouts of illness". Jehane Thomas, from Doncaster, died unexpectedly on Friday March 17 at the age of just 30, reports Yorkshire Live. She leaves behind her two sons Isaac, aged three, and her one-year-old Elijah. The mum was well known for sharing her life as a parent on TikTok, where she had over 56.6K followers and 1.2million views on...

A 20-year-old young woman who dropped out of college decided to return to school after a year of working in her boyfriend’s family’s restaurant business. For the sake of her story, we’ll call her Jane. Jane’s parents had set aside 30,000 dollars in a college tuition account for her. But instead, her parents used the money to remodel their kitchen after Jane moved in with her boyfriend, despite her parent’s advice not to. When Jane realized what her parents had done, she was shocked and angry. She asked for access to her college tuition account. Still, her parents refused, citing...

A Reddit user shares that he turned his daughter’s bedroom into a home office after she moved out and decided to live with her boyfriend. However, her boyfriend accepted a job abroad, and she didn’t want to go with him. So, she announced she’ll be moving back in with her parents. The parents were okay with her moving back in. But, the daughter wasn’t happy living in the spare guest bedroom and wanted her original bedroom back. What Makes This Room Special? The original poster (OP) started working for a different company, and they allowed working from home. And, since...

In a new interview with Us Weekly, Marie Osmond opened up about motherhood and defended her choice to not to leave her eight children an inheritance. 'Why would you enable your child to not try to be something? I don’t know anybody who becomes anything if they’re just handed money,' the show business vet, 63, said.... ....She was filming an episode of The Talk when she noted, 'I think you do a great disservice to your children to just hand them a fortune because you take away the one most important gift you can give your children, and that’s the...

Four significant problems are plaguing boys as they seek to navigate the perilous journey to manhood: They are unguided, ungrounded, unappreciated and, too often, uninspired. Boys in particular, lacking positive male role models, wonder what it means to be a man. They are largely unguided in this effort, as 89% of elementary-level teachers are female, and nearly 21% of boys live in a home without a father present. While these moms are performing a herculean task as a single parent, there is no question that both boys and girls do much better in a home with two parents. While girls...