Moreno was an organ donor, so she was taken on an “Honor Walk” to have her organs harvested for donation. Video of Moreno’s father, Robert Moreno, shows him sobbing over his daughter as he said his last goodbyes. More than 100 people joined the Honor Walk to support the Moreno family. It is a second devastating loss for Robert in just three short years after Zahriya’s twin brother died in 2021 after a motorcycle accident. “I’m devastated,” said Robert. “Being as we lost our twins, it’s going to be a lot of darkness in the future and we’re going to push through that as difficult as it is because that’s what our daughter would have wanted for us.” Zahriya had been a member of the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) and had planned to make a career of it, according to Robert. He did take some comfort from his daughter’s final charitable act in donating her organs. “It’s wonderful to know that parts of my baby will live on. But there’s no words, no anything that will ever be able to make this better,” he said. He was also touched by the outpouring of supporters at the Honor Walk. “I thought it was just going to be family and friends. The outpouring of support, I wouldn’t have fathomed in a million years.”

Olivas was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence, aggravated assault and felony endangerment. He was let go the day after his arrest after posting bail for $2,500. Robert was outraged at the small amount. “It almost seemed like a joke,” he said. “I'm disappointed in the judge, the legal system.”

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The post was fact-checked by USA Today, which found the claim to be true. “Indeed, laws in all four of the named states say judges can't finalize divorces while a woman is pregnant, although a married couple can file for divorce at any time and take steps in the process before then,” it stated. It shared that divorces couldn’t be finalized in those states until after a baby is born, when paternity could be established, thus allowing custody and child support issues to be determined. However, no state prohibits a woman from filing for divorce while pregnant and other arrangements can be made while the divorce is ongoing, such as custody and financial support for prior children, the division of assets and debt between the couple, as well as some preliminary arrangements on how to handle the new baby. In Arkansas, divorce is delayed because of the lengthy process it would take to modify a divorce order if it were finalized before a child was born. Another factor could be the health of the baby. “If a baby were to be born with serious medical issues, that could drastically affect any custody and support agreements already in place,” said Scholl Law Firm. It stated judges waiting to finalize a divorce until a baby is born is “not new.” AS USA also broadened the list of states that may not finalize a divorce until the baby is born. The list included 22 states, including California.

The Washington Post went into further detail of Missouri’s law, noting that delaying the finalization of a divorce has practical benefits. Kris Balekian Hayes, a divorce lawyer in Texas, said the move is to help the children, not hurt mothers. Regarding women in domestic abuse situations, Hayes stated nothing prevents women from filing an order of protection, as a divorce will not protect them. “People have complained that it’s so outlandish that we could force someone to stay married to the batterer. It’s not intended to be punitive to her but to account for the child’s needs.” Democrat Missouri Rep. Ashley Aune is working to pass legislation in the state that would allow judges to finalize divorces even if the woman is pregnant. “Life is different in 2024 and I’d like to see our policies keep up with the times,” she said.

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Feeling uncomfortable about sharing a room and a bed with a biological male, D.W. snuck off to a bathroom and called her mother, Serena Wailes, who was also on the trip, though not attending as a chaperone. “We were definitely not aware of that before we went on the trip,” Wailes told The Daily Signal. She stated she had been assured that boys and girls would not share rooms and would be on separate floors. Wailes met with her daughter in the hotel lobby to discuss the situation. “I was really upset. One, I was really upset that she was put in that situation at 11 years old—I don’t feel that is fair to put kids in that kind of situation—and two, that we were not even given the information that this was a possibility before the trip,” said Wailes. “The whole time they’re saying, ‘Girls on one floor, boys on another, they’re not going to be in each other’s rooms unless it is pre-approved.’ So, we’re going through this whole process, not even recognizing that this is a possibility.”

A chaperone was contacted, who then contacted the school’s principal, Ryan Lucas. According to the Wailes’ legal counsel through the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), Lucas confirmed K.E.M’s biological gender with his parents and informed that he was in “stealth mode,” meaning that other students could not be informed of K.E.M’s biological sex. According to the ADF, after a long discussion, D.W. agreed to move to a different bed in the room, but was apparently told to lie about the reason, telling the other students she wanted to be close to the air conditioner. However, another student suggested K.E.M move to the bed by the air conditioner with D.W, causing further uneasiness. D.W reached out to her mother again, who then spoke to a chaperone again. It was finally agreed that D.W. could move to a different room, but according to the ADF, the chaperones lied about the reason as well, stating it was due to an illness. The ADF has written a demand letter to the school, requesting clarification on its room-sharing policies as the Waileses have two fourth-grade students that are planning to attend the same trip next year.

The ADF accused the school of having an “unequal application” for students regarding its transgender policy. “The policy is supposed to ‘maintain the privacy of all students,’ Id. at 1, and allow for ‘[a]ny student who is transgender or not’ to be ‘provided with a reasonable accommodation,’ including a ‘private room.’ Id. at 3,” the ADF wrote in its complaint. “But in practice, JCPS does not provide this same opportunity to students like D.W., who do not wish to room with a student of the opposite sex, nor to parents like the Waileses, who would like to know whether JCPS intends to require their daughter to share a room with a boy.” Parental rights and school transgender policies have often been at odds with one another, with a number of schools adopting policies that allow students to change their gender identity without notifying the student’s parents. ADF senior counsel, Kate Anderson, says that parents, and not just schools, have the right to such information. “Parents, not the government, have the right to direct the upbringing and education of their children, and that includes making informed decisions to protect their child’s privacy.”

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In the past, most locations have been accessible, but the user’s parents have decided to have this year’s festivities at a ski resort that, according to the user, “is largely inaccessible and would have a lot of activities that would leave my husband out.” After telling her parents that they would do their own thing for Christmas rather than leave the user’s husband out of activities, the user’s parents suggested she just send her children and the couple could “do their own thing.” The idea of splitting up the family did not appeal to the user, who wrote to her parent that, “we wouldn’t be sending our kids and that if we couldn’t all attend, nobody would attend.” The user was then accused of withholding the children from the extended family and being a bad parent.

The post received over a thousand responses, with most supporting the user over her parents. “They've excluded your husband from Christmas and their solution is oh that's OK, you can just split up your entire family for the holidays?!” wrote one Redditor. “Do they have a problem with your husband? Because honestly, I almost feel like this would be *less* awful if they've done it on purpose than if they've been *that level* ignorant towards him and your whole family.” The user responded that usually her parents have seemed alright with her husband, thus making their response so surprising.

Of course, family drama during the holidays has become as iconic as 24-hour marathons of “A Christmas Story” on TBS. Christmas stress abounds with festivity planning and trying to see everyone all at once, which can be especially difficult for blended families. Psychology Today gives some tips for how to manage family drama during holidays, including setting expectations and having your spouse advocate for you. It also stresses the importance of being grateful and looking for opportunities to learn. “As much as being around others can cause friction, it can also create growth. It can help you see others and yourself through a different lens. It can also introduce you to new things, whether it be uncovering traditions, a new meal, or a different board game.”

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Psychologist Leslie Dobson, 40, deals with many millennial parents who feel the same as Hillberg and even struggles with it herself. Her 71-year-old father has moved to a luxury community in Mexico, leaving him mostly unavailable to help with childcare. Her father, Ted Dobson, however, pushed back saying that he still financially supports his children but is now spending some of his money on himself as well. “They've all got nannies. We didn't have a damn nanny. They drive expensive SUVs. I drove a fricking minivan. I haven't spent a nickel less on my kids. I just spent some on me,” he told BI. He also stated that on his last visit back to the States, he wasn’t able to see all of his grandchildren due to their own busy schedules. “Life revolves around the children, and you're either on board or you're not. They're like phenomenally busy, right? And so there was one night I just had absolutely nothing to do even though I was there to be with my kids,” he said.

The differences between Millennials and their parents are more than just how to prioritize retirement and helping with childcare. Speaking with Newsweek, 32-year-old Eloisa Hife said that Millennials and Boomers differ on parenting expectations. “Millennials crave a different kind of parental relationship, one that prioritizes open communication, emotional support, and active involvement in their children's lives. Unfortunately, many Boomers struggle to break free from traditional parenting styles, leading to feelings of neglect and isolation among their millennial children,” she said. Many Millennials look for parenting advice on the internet, rather than going to their parents. There are also financial differences. With Boomers having $78 trillion in assets, they are outspending other generations on travel and dining out. Meanwhile, Millennials are often feeling the financial pressure of student debt and a stagnant economy. Thirty-five percent of Millennials report receiving financial support from their parents. Yet many of their parents feel they have already given much of their lives to their children and are now trying to focus on themselves. Dobson said that while she still struggles with her feelings, she understands that mindset of Boomers who, “spent so much of their lives to be there for their family during all of these times of crisis.” “You're getting your kids through high school and college, through their pregnancies, through their marriages, and now they finally reached adulthood and this capacity to be independent,” she said. She said Boomers feel like “they did the family, they did the life, and they're wanting to really live this glorious ending.”

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The good news is that most parents expressed an interest in cutting back on screen time in their family and focusing more on personal connections. Seventy-nine percent of parents reported that their time spent with children without devices was more memorable and that 76 percent encouraged their children to spend more time outdoors. Sixty-three percent were also creating device-free spaces. Erin Stender, chief marketing officer at Campspot, stated it was an encouraging sign. “Summer is the perfect time to unplug and reconnect with what truly matters – our families. We know the power of stepping away from screens and immersing ourselves in nature since it’s often in these moments that we create the strongest family bonds. Camping, in particular, offers a unique opportunity for families to experience new adventures together, fostering not only a love for the outdoors but also nurturing children’s self-development,” she said. 

A parent’s time spent on their smartphone can be detrimental to the development of their children’s emotional intelligence, as one study found. Emotional intelligence allows a person to recognize and manage their emotional states and includes skills that can be developed throughout a child’s life. When a parent is more involved in their smartphone than their child, those skills can lag. “We know that how parents express, reflect and talk about emotions with children influences their EI (emotional intelligence) development. And we know how easy it is for parents to be absorbed in their own phones, which could limit the interaction and feedback they give to their children,” said the study head, Robin Nabi, a UC Santa Barbara professor of communication. “So, we thought it would be important to see what role parents’ screen time and phone use around their child might play in their child’s EI development.”

The survey of 400 parents with children aged five to 12 asked parents to gauge their children’s emotional intelligence and the amount of time the parents spent on their phones. The study found that the more time parents reported spending on their phones, the less skill in emotional intelligence they reported in their children. One result of the use of phones is “still face,” when a parent is using their phone and their face is fairly expressionless, oftentimes interpreted as depression. Nabi said parents must prioritize when they use their phones, particularly in front of their children. “The takeaway is for parents to be more mindful of how often they use their phones around their children,” she said. “Where their eyes are sends a message to their children about what’s important.”

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 The data is just the latest confirmation of the continued decline of marriage in the United States. A report from "The Hill" noted that Americans are waiting longer and longer to get married and that more are foregoing marriage completely. "In the prime adult years, ages 25 to 54, the share of married Americans has dwindled from more than two-thirds in 1990 to barely half today. Roughly 1 adult in 10 cohabits with a partner. Everyone else, in romantic terms, lives alone," the report noted. Millennials and Gen Z are delaying marriage and other marks of "adulthood" such as having a full-time job and buying a house. Richard Fry, the senior researcher who wrote the analysis for Pew, stated that the economy was another factor. "As an economist, I think some of the trends, particularly for less educated young men, are working against them. Economically, they're not as attractive partners as they once were. The nation's labor market is working against them."

Nancy Pearcey, a university educator, apologist, and author who explores cultural issues of gender, sexuality, and the family, noted on Twitter that the study further highlighted the growing number of children being raised in single-parent households. "Not being married does not mean not having children," she wrote. "Today, around 40 percent of children live apart from their natural fathers. Most of these children see their fathers seldom, if at all. The US has the highest rate of single parenthood in the world." Pearcey's new book, "The Toxic War on Masculinity," explores the issues that things like less fatherly involvement cause in society. In another Tweet, Pearcey noted, "Children with absent fathers are 63 percent of youth suicides, 90 percent of runaway children, 85 percent of children with behavior disorders, 71 percent of high school dropouts, 85 percent of youths in prison. The strongest predictor of whether a boy will end up behind bars is whether he had a father in the home."

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Child sexual exploitation and “grooming” through social media have been hot topics lately. Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri is pushing for the passage of the MATURE Act, which would ban children under 16 years old from having social media accounts. He has also spoken out against pornography. As June celebrates Pride month, social media influencers like Libs of TikTok have highlighted concerns over drag shows for children and sexually explicit material available in libraries in the children’s and middle school sections. The National Center on Sexual Exploitation features the story of Maya (not her real name), a 12-year-old who met a grown man called Robert on Instagram. She would go on to send naked photos of herself to Robert, then meet him in person, and was trafficked, with Robert taking over her account and selling her to grown men. Robert also profited by selling photos and videos he had taken of the girl. She was eventually murdered at the age of 15 by a 43-year-old man who reached out to her through Instagram.  

Jim Caviezel of “The Passion of the Christ” will be releasing his new movie, “Sound of Freedom,” in theaters on July 4th. The film was picked up by Angel Studios and deals with the true-life story of a DHS agent who lost his job for rescuing children from sex trafficking. Speaking with The Christian Post, filmmaker and actor Eduardo Verástegui spoke about his heart behind the film. “What really hurts me the most is that the people who are doing this to these kids are human beings like you and me, made of the same. This is not people who are coming from other planets that are our enemies. This is people like us,” he said. The film’s trailer boldly pronounces, “God’s children are not for sale.” 

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Garner has been an advocate for her children’s safety and privacy for years. In 2013, she and actress Halley Berry testified in a California state assembly in support of SB 606, which increased jail and financial penalties if photographers were deemed to be harassing children under 16 years old. It also increased parents’ abilities to take out restraining orders. Both Berry and Garner had very young children at the time and stated that the paparazzi should leave their children alone. “I chose a public life and understand that this means sacrifices in terms of privacy for our jobs. In my case, this means that I am sometimes photographed. However, my three children are private citizens and more than that – at one, four and seven years old – they’re just little kids,” said Garner. She revealed how a stalker had been caught behind her daughter’s preschool, hiding amongst the paparazzi. “There are violent, mentally ill stalkers who can now get close to my kids by simply following mobs of photographers and blending in like the very man who threatened to cut the babies out of my belly. Who was arrested waiting behind our daughter’s preschool, standing among the throng of paparazzi,” she said. The bill was eventually passed.

Garner’s concerns about the impact of social media have been shared by a number of studies. An internal report from Facebook, which owns Instagram, revealed that 40 percent of Instagram users reported feeling “unattractive” after they began using the app. Seattle Public Schools has filed a complaint against social media companies, noting the mental health crises that many of its students are facing. “The reality is that our young people are under incredible strain, facing unprecedented learning and life struggles that are amplified by the negative impacts of increased screen time, unfiltered content, and potentially addictive properties of social media,” the complaint stated. Utah has become the first state in the United States to require parental consent for minors to use social media. The law also requires social media companies to verify the age of any users and mandates they give parents access to their children’s social media accounts. Senator Josh Hawley has pushed for a federal law that would ban anyone under 16 years old from using social media. “Children suffer every day from the effects of social media. At best, Big Tech companies are neglecting our children’s health and monetizing their personal information. At worst, they are complicit in their exploitation and manipulation. It’s time to give parents the weapons they need to strike back,” he said. 

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 As of right now, all the brothers remain “girl dads.” Joe Jonas, 33, married actress Sophia Turner in 2019, and they have had two girls: Willa, born in 2020, and a sister whose name has not been revealed, born in 2022. Nick Jonas, 30, and wife Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s daughter was born via surrogate and spent her first 100 days of life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). “I didn’t know if she would make it or not,” said Chopra Jonas when reflecting on the time. Chopra Jonas, 40, received some criticism for choosing surrogacy, with some accusing her of “renting a womb.” However, Chopra Jonas revealed that she’d had “medical complications” that made surrogacy a “necessary step.” “Our surrogate was so generous, kind, lovely, and funny, and she took care of this precious gift for us for six months,” she said. All three families have been very protective of their children’s privacy.

 After revealing their “unspoken rule,” parenting expert Rachel Simmons discussed the wisdom of such an approach on “Good Morning America.” “When somebody criticizes your parenting, it is so hard not to take it personally. And when that is coming from a sibling that you have a history with of all kinds of arguments, it’s almost impossible not to have that turn into a conflict,” she said of unsolicited parenting advice from siblings. She stated that unsolicited advice could come from anywhere and gave tips on how parents can deal with it when it is given. She shared that parents need to find ways to thank people for their concerns but also to demonstrate that they are comfortable with their own parenting style. She also cautioned against giving advice when it’s not asked for. “We really just have to acknowledge that there are as many different ways to raise kids as there are kids. It’s not our job to parent other peoples’ kids. It’s our job to parent our own children,” she said. The Jonas Brothers’ next album, entitled “The Album,” will be released on May 5th. 

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