NEW YORK (AFP) – It seems parents have long been right. Going to bed early is key to getting enough sleep and helping adolescents feel on top of the world, a new study reported. A lack of sleep among youngsters may trigger depression and suicidal thoughts, according to the study by the Columbia University...

(US NEWS & WORLD REPORT) Just 4 percent of teenagers admit to “sexting,” or sending sexually explicit photos of themselves or others by cellphone. But 15 percent of teenagers say they’ve been sent nude or nearly nude photos, according to a new survey, so clearly somebody’s...

(US News & World Report) Teenage brains and behavior are worth $1 million–at least to a researcher who has been trying to figure out why teenagers do such dumb things, particularly when they’re hanging out together. Laurence Steinberg, a developmental psychologist at Temple University...

CHICAGO (Reuters) – Hunger is spreading while the number of homeless families is increasing as a result of the recession and other factors, according to a report on Tuesday. The U.S. Conference of Mayors said cities reported a 26 percent jump in demand for hunger assistance over the past year, the...

(Washington) – These tough economic times may have at least one positive side effect: they might be encouraging greater family solidarity. The evidence for this? The US divorce rate fell during the first full year of what might be called the Great Recession. That’s the first such decline since...

NEW YORK — New laws passed in 25 states are making it easier for social networking giants Facebook and MySpace to purge their membership lists of convicted rapists, gropers and child molesters. More than 3,500 offenders registered in New York have been kicked off the two popular Web sites in the...

(LiveScience.com) — A new study finds university students in coed housing are 2.5 times more likely to binge drink every week. And no surprise, they’re also likely to have more sexual partners, the study found. Also, pornography use was higher among students in coed dorms. Some 90 percent...

SEATTLE (AP) – Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published...

In the following letter sent to every CW network affliate in the country, Parents Television Council® asked CW Network affiliates to preempt the next teen-targeted “Gossip Girl” episode on November 9, which will feature major characters in a sexual threesome according to CW’s own ads for the upcoming...

(PFL Editor’s Note) – Great Britain’s Telegraph Media Group declares in the following article that the traditional family is dying in the United Kingdom: Women are more likely to give birth before they turn 25 than get married, according to official statistics that illustrate how British...