Ever watch a bunch of 6-year-olds playing soccer? It's chaotic fun, win or lose. Fast-forward five years, though, and you'll see intense play and scary sideline behavior by parents. Maybe, suggests Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld, it's time to back off.

Sometimes they feel lonely. Sometimes they feel angry. Often, they're confused. But children with military parents serving abroad are finding help—through support groups and programs developed specifically for these situations. CFK explores a few of these services.

For parents serving abroad, life is filled with difficult realities—like how to explain why mom or dad has to be gone for so long. As the U.S. enters into year two of the Iraq war, Connect for Kids' Rob Capriccioso talks to Sergeant Roberta Martinez, a mom who's been there since day one.

Parental substance abuse is one of the most common reasons that children wind up in foster care. In Sacramento, a court-based program mingles support and sanctions to help parents regain control of their lives and custody of their children. This article originally appeared in the November-December 2003 issue of the Children's Advocate, published by Action Alliance for Children.

Will "Baby Einstein" videos help your baby's brain develop? Or will staring at the flickering screen sedate your squirming toddler and interfere with his or her development? We don't know the answers--but a new national study indicates that for good or ill, the current crop of babies and toddlers is swimming in a sea of media.

Preschool is growing up, and getting political. The focus is on getting young kids ready for school, and the policy struggle over what that means. More phonics and seat work? More formal testing? Where do finger paints and clapping games fit in? Child development expert Sue Bredekamp talked to Jan Richter about the five keys to understanding how young children learn.

Raising a Reader by Jennie Nash and See Johnny Read! by Tracey Wood are two recent books about the critical role parents can play in helping their children build a positive relationship with books and reading. Connect for Kids takes a look between the covers.

Provocative new research showing a link between children's IQ scores and their families' socio-economic status offers scientific support for the view that reducing poverty will help kids succeed. Connect for Kids' Jan Richter interviewed lead researcher Eric Turkheimer to learn more.

A new survey by the National League of Cities shows that child care and early childhood education are high on the agenda for city leaders. That heightened attention to the early years also has some mayors worried about Bush administration efforts to change Head Start.

Are American kids drowning in homework? Plenty of media accounts suggest that they are. But a new Brookings report concludes otherwise; and the author warns that many teens aren;t getting enough homework to properly prepare for college-level work.