Childhood & Adolescence - The Atlantic

Childhood & Adolescence

The Wonder Reader

The Thrill of Childhood Rituals

April 11, 2026

Illustration of the "cool S"—a blocky, graffiti-style letter "S"—in multiple colors, overlapping

A Novel About a Secret No One Wants to Know

April 2026 Issue

color illustration of dark-haired girl in t-shirt and plaid skirt clutching flaming red book to her chest in snowy woods

The Skin-Care Industry Is Coming for Toddlers

February 25, 2026

A toy car full of skin-care products

Can We Just Let Teens Exist in Public?

January 24, 2026

black and white photo of young people hanging out outside stores

Rotavirus Could Come Roaring Back—Very Soon

Katherine J. Wu

January 5, 2026

Collage of a photo of vaccine vials and a photo of Paul Offit

The Vaccine Guardrails Are Gone

December 5, 2025

Robert Malone speaks at the December 4 meeting of the CDC's advisory committee on immunization practices.

The Accidental Trailblazers of a New Global Condition

November 12, 2025

Black-and-white photo of a person standing with crutches in the doorway of a room containing prosthetic legs.

Jane Goodall’s Second-Greatest Talent

Michelle Nijhuis

October 2, 2025

a color photograph of Jane Goodall wearing a black turtleneck

AI Is Coming for Parents

September 23, 2025

photo of a mother and her two children at home

June

Daniel J. O’Malley

August 26, 2025

Bird feathers falling over an image of a tree trunk with a hole in the center

What Muriel Spark Knew About Childhood

August 15, 2025

A photograph of Muriel Spark writing on a notebook on the floor

My Brother and the Relationship That Could Have Been

August 7, 2025

photo of a family with a cutout where one sibling should be

What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones

Lenore Skenazy, Zach Rausch, and Jonathan Haidt

August 4, 2025

A black-and-white image of children playing on a jungle gym.

What We Gain by Forgetting

Rachel Vorona Cote

July 15, 2025

Image of multiple silhouettes moving through like pages of a book

Let Your Kid Climb That Tree

July 12, 2025

A black-and-white image of a girl smiling as she hangs from a tree branch, with one foot propped against the tree's trunk

AI Will Never Be Your Kid’s Friend

July 11, 2025

A child shown in a glowing green bubble, using a digital device in a chaotic classroom

A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading

July 1, 2025

A line of four kids biking, with the bicycles of the last two fading away

The Atlantic Daily

A Novel About Motherhood, Childhood, and Secrets

May 13, 2025

A swimming pool and two girls dancing under the sunlight

Skin a Rabbit

May 4, 2025

girl in bathing suit

What Makes Modern Measles Outbreaks Different

April 7, 2025

A blurred face with a matrix of red dots across it

The Atlantic Daily

Why This Measles Outbreak Is Different

March 4, 2025

A wooden sign reads "MEASLES TESTING" and has an arrow pointing to the left

I’ve Never Seen Parents This Freaked Out About Vaccines

February 13, 2025

Treated photograph of a hand holding a syringe

What an Undervaccinated America Would Look Like

Katherine J. Wu

January 28, 2025

A graphic illustration showing a black-and-white photo of a syringe and a vial over a black-grid background

Pornography Shouldn’t Be So Easy for Kids to Access

Elizabeth Bruenig

January 19, 2025

Illustration showing a 'like' icon and female legs

The Place Where I Grew Up Is Gone

January 16, 2025

A black and white photograph of a man looking at a burned down home

‘I’ve Never Seen Anything Like This’

January 8, 2025

The Palisades Fire burns along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California, on January 8, 2025.

Why Poor American Kids Are So Likely to Become Poor Adults

January 8, 2025

A photo-illustration of two squares of cardboard with torn edges, the one on the left showing a drawing of a child on it and the one on the write with a drawing of an adult on it.

Parents, Put Down Your Phone Cameras

January 3, 2025

GIF of video footage featuring kids performing ballet and theater, and playing soccer

Book Recommendations

Six Books to Read by the Fire

Amanda Parrish Morgan

December 23, 2024

A painting of a woman warming her hands by the fire

Couples Therapy, but for Siblings

October 7, 2024

An illustration of two trees, connected at the roots and at the top, with a person standing at each tree

The Ghosts of Wannsee

September 28, 2024

A bar at night, with an illuminated pink sign in the center and folded up tables along its windows

Lighthouse Parents Have More Confident Kids

September 22, 2024

A photo of a parent and a child walking across a grassy expanse

Dear Therapist: My Relatives Don’t Believe My Parents Were Abusive

August 26, 2024

a person stands in a dark forest apart from their family at the dinner table

The Atlantic Daily

Eight Absorbing Reads for Independence Day Weekend

July 7, 2024

A child in a white hat with lots of sunscreen on her face

Dear Therapist: I’m the Golden Child, and My Siblings Resent Me for It

June 24, 2024

A photo illustration of woman's silhouette and a hand signing a last will and testament.

Your Childhood Home Might Never Stop Haunting You

May 17, 2024

suburban house through trees