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Youth Voices Power Hartford Afterschool Program By Annika Anderson, MPH: At Connecticut Children’s Childhood Prosperity Lab (The Lab), we believe the best ideas come directly from the people they’re meant to serve. Since 2015, we’ve partnered with communities to create programs and services that reflect their strengths, interests, and priorities. This
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2.5 Million Gift Establishes the Chase-Bear-Dyer Family Cafe in Connecticut Children’s Tower Expansion Hartford, CT—Connecticut Children’s, the state’s only healthcare system dedicated exclusively to the care of children, has received a $2.5 million gift from Cheryl Chase and Stuart Bear and their family to support the hospital’s new eight-story clinical tower, set to open in Article
Beyond Hearing Loss: Annabelle’s Story When you are a child growing up with hearing loss, or the parent of a child who’s diagnosed with a hearing condition, you likely have lots of questions. What challenges will we face? Where can we find advice? Who else will understand? Annabelle Jacobs, age 17, has made it her
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8 Skiing & Snowboarding Injury Prevention Tips | Winter Sports Safety for Kids & Teens By Katelyn Colosi, PA-C: This article was originally published in February 2024 and was updated in February 2026. Skiing and snowboarding are exciting winter sports that help kids and teens stay active during the colder months. But without proper preparation, these activities can lead to injuries
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Mind the Chatter By Annika Anderson, MPH: What comes to mind for you when you think about Mindfulness ? You might envision a guided meditation practice, a tech-free walk outside, the fragrance of your favorite candle as you end the day with a journal entry, or intentionally relaxing your jaw when you notice it’s tense
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Worried About Having the Back-to-School Talk With Your Child? 8 Steps to Prepare By Robert D. Keder, MD: Getting your child ready for this school year includes big decisions – like whether they’ll be learning at home or in the classroom – and new rules due to COVID-19. Before you sit down to talk all it over with your child, pause to check in with yourself. (When you’re ready, here Article
Why Your Child Needs Their Flu Shot ASAP (and Maybe a Second Shot, Too): A Note From Our Physician-in-Chief By Juan C. Salazar, MD, MPH, FAAP: This is a hectic back-to-school season for many families – but don’t be tempted to put off your child’s flu shot. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it’s important to get kids vaccinated for the flu as soon as possible. Physician-in-Chief Juan Salazar, MD, MPH shares why you Article
A Conversation with Kirsten Carlone on Strengthening Families in North Hartford By Annika Anderson, MPH: In February of 2025, Childhood Prosperity Lab (the Lab) led the second North Hartford Ascend Strengthening Families Protective Factors Community of Practice with 12 service providers and leaders. The Strengthening Families Protective Factors Framework (SFPFF) is a research
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Grow Brave: Kelly’s Remarkable Recovery From a Rare Bone Cancer It started like every other family dinner. Kelly sat around the table with her parents, grandparents, and two older siblings. They each talked about their days. Kelly, who was 10 at the time, mentioned that she felt an odd pain in her left leg. Her parents assumed it was growing
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Childhood Conversations: Together We Will By Jacquelyn M. Rose, MPH: Earlier this month, Childhood Prosperity Lab had the opportunity to present at the 2024 Childhood Conversations: Together We Will Conference. The Childhood Conversations Conference started in 2007 as a strategy to give parents access to the same information and content that
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Honoring Pride Month With Kids Pride Month provides an opportunity to teach children about the tremendous contributions and accomplishments of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) during past and present times. At Connecticut Children
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It's One Question Parents Should Ask As part of our organization’s efforts to keep children safe this upcoming holiday season and all year long, Connecticut Children’s is collaborating with hospitals and health systems across the country in a new nationwide public awareness campaign that encourages families to ask
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Caring for the Caregiver By Jacquelyn M. Rose, MPH: At Connecticut Children’s Childhood Prosperity Lab, we believe improving child, youth, and family health requires a comprehensive approach. Recently, I was reminded just how critical this approach is in our ongoing work. Childhood Prosperity Lab, a program of the Office for
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5 Things to Know About the Omicron BA.2 Subvariant By John R. Schreiber, MD, MPH: Since the very first cases of COVID-19 arrived in Connecticut in March of 2020, the pandemic has felt like a game of stop and go. And just when life seems to have returned back to normal after this past winter’s Omicron surge, here we are hearing and reading about the Omicron BA
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In the Best Hands: Miles’ Story In the third trimester of pregnancy, Hattie and Donnie Donner went to one last ultrasound to check on Hattie’s thyroid levels. Her levels were fine, but something else wasn’t. The ultrasound picked up on two bubbles in the baby’s small intestines. Their baby boy had a rare, life