children's health

President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to add pressure to the Republican-led states that have refused funding for a summer meal program for kids. Among those states, is Florida.

The Biden administration is urging a federal appeals court to uphold a ruling aimed at keeping Florida children with complex medical conditions out of nursing homes.

Experts attribute the change to improved screening and autism services for all children, and to increased awareness and advocacy for Black and Hispanic families.

The plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also seeks to decrease sodium in the meals served to schoolkids by 2029, while making the rules for foods made with whole grains more flexible.

Expanded growth charts now include a body mass index of 60 — up from previous charts that stopped at 37. Officials also expanded measures to map severe obesity, which affects an estimated 4.5 million children and teens in the U.S.

Hospitals in St. Petersburg and other parts of the U.S. are seeing more young people come in with suicidal thoughts. If you or someone you know needs mental health support, you can call the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The latest spike is months early and it's pushing care facilities to capacity. Children under the age of 5 are most vulnerable.

Children who are regularly exposed to gun violence can struggle with feelings of hopelessness and anxiety. There's a lot communities and after-school programs can do to help.

Dr. Howard Pratt, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, worries about all the kids who aren't getting care.

The Miami-Dade school district has partnered with the University of Miami Health System to offer the vaccinations — including flu shots — for students entering kindergarten and seventh grade.

Parents have questions about the COVID vaccine for their children. Plus, a big construction project bridging two communities. And one of the Florida Keys' few veterinarians published a new book.

More than two years into the pandemic, many South Florida families are still struggling to afford to feed their kids. This summer, hundreds of schools and libraries are hosting meal sites where students can eat for free.