Category: News

SPRINGBORO, Ohio (WKEF)– Parents of Dennis Elementary School in Springboro are upset about a situation last week where a student threatened others on a school bus. They’re now urging the district to take quick action because they’re concerned about their children’s safety.

“I’m still just in shock that the situation that these children were put in was not relayed to the parents,” said Marcella Helbling, a Springboro parent.

She said she is extremely concerned about the safety of her son and other children after they learned a student made a threat on the bus last week.

Helbling, along with Heather Sartin, another parent, told Dayton 24/7 Now’s, Kysha Hancock her daughter said this behavior also takes place in the classroom.

“She witnessed using pencils and pens as maybe a stabbing weapon, she witnessed curse language, she said that this particular student uses the F word all the time,” said Sartin.

Helbling and Sartin said their children’s classes have had to go through multiple evacuation drills because of this student. One parent who wishes to remain anonymous said the district should have told parents about the situation.

“My child was punched in the stomachhe had made the threat to not tell therefore my daughter never informed me,” said the anonymous parent.

“When I asked my child about it they said it was one to two times a week they would need to leave the classroom,” said Helbling

Helbling and Sartin told Hancock they voiced these concerns to the school board in Wednesday night’s school board meeting, but felt like it didn’t get them anywhere. They told Hancock board members did thank them for coming and speaking up.

Hancock reached out to Springboro Schools and the district sent the statement they sent to all parents of the school Monday following the bus incident.

It said in part:

“Due to student privacy laws, we are unable to share specific details regarding the student involved or disciplinary actions taken. However, please be assured that we are taking this situation seriously and are implementing necessary steps to strengthen our safety procedures.”

The district said they are working closely with the Springboro Police Department and following all necessary protocols.

EXCLUSIVE 

The American tourist who manhandled a baby wombat and enraged the world has fled Australia – as new details emerge about her chequered past.

Samantha Strable, 24, shared a now-deleted video of her laughing as she grabbed a wombat joey from its distressed mother and ran off with it dangling in her arms.

Government sources revealed on Friday she has departed Australia, and is now believed to be on her way back to the US. 

‘There’s never been a better day to be a baby wombat in Australia,’ Immigration Minister Tony Burke told Daily Mail Australia on Friday.  

The wombat stunt infuriated Australians, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who urged the influencer to try her luck with some other Australian animals.

‘Take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there,’ Mr Albanese said on Thursday.

‘Take another animal that can actually fight back rather than stealing a baby wombat from its mother.’

The federal government began working to deport her after wildlife service WIRES said Ms Strable had violated Australia’s biosecurity and animal welfare laws, but she jumped before being pushed.  

But despite being an avid wildlife hunter – who has posted multiple selfies with wild creatures she had killed – Ms Strable tried to get a job with animal rights group PETA.

They rejected her application after a background check discovered she was an ‘avid hunter and carnivore’.

A second controversial video of Ms Strable also resurfaced on Thursday, sparking further outrage.

The clip shows her handling an echidna, which appeared to be in the wild, and showing it off to her almost 100,000 followers last month. 

Now her former boss in the US state of Wyoming has told Daily Mail Australia how he sacked her from his hunting tour company after just 30 days when he claimed he found out she misled him about her experience.

Bruce Lindsey, of Best of the West Outfitters, employed her in October 2021 as a ‘packer’ who helped clients on rocky mountain elk hunting trips in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.

Mr Lindsey said the wombat furore surrounding his former employee ‘certainly doesn’t surprise me’.

He said he was forced to fire Ms Strable after just her first month on the job after it ‘became clear’ his fresh-faced worker wasn’t cut out for the tough job of leading a string of mules through the Yellowstone snows.

‘She just didn’t have the knowledge, didn’t have the experience, and we had to assist her greatly with her duties,’ he said, citing a catalogue of issues with her work.

She then ‘contacted the state and wrote a bunch of blogs (about the company) that caused issues’.

He added: ‘I don’t recall her being a ‘biologist’ at all.’

Despite admitting in a 2023 newspaper interview that she thought hunting was ‘pretty gross’ when she was a child, Ms Strable went on to fall in love with it.

She changed her mind after doing a hunting mentorship program when she shot a deer and then tasted some of the cooked tenderloin from her kill.

Raised in Great Falls, Montana, Ms Strable was born into a Christian family with four siblings, all of them home-schooled but high achievers.

Samantha’s younger sister, Kimberly, stepped away from California Intercontinental University with a doctorate in Business Administration at just 17 years old. 

‘We Strables are high performers by nature,’ Samantha’s mother Adria Strable said at the time. 

‘And Kimberly embodies that work ethic, “Whatever your hand finds to do, work at it with all your might as working for the Lord.”‘   

By 2020 Ms Strable was basing herself in Pinedale, Wyoming, for seasonal work during the northern summers, and then flying to the southern hemisphere to hunt during the northern winters.

Her adventures included killing a wild pig with a knife in New Zealand and stalking red deer with a bow in Chile.

Two years later, Ms Strable applied for a job at the animal rights group PETA, according to the Hustead Law Firm based in Denver, Colorado.

She didn’t get the job and lodged a complaint with the Montana Human Rights Bureau alleging age discrimination. 

Samantha’s younger sister, Dr Kimberly Strable, has received about $350,000 USD in settlements from 300 discrimination claims, according to US court documents. 

Hustead Law Firm was retained to represent PETA, and after doing a background search on Ms Strable, discovered that she was an ‘avid hunter and carnivore, characteristics expressly prohibited by PETA’s policies’.

Her complaint to the Human Rights Bureau about the failed job application was dismissed 

In the footage released on Tuesday, Ms Strable was seen running towards her car with a wombat joey swinging in her arms. 

The joey’s mother was seen desperately chasing her while an Australian man laughed as he filmed the scene.

‘I caught a baby wombat,’ Ms Strable said as the joey shrieked and wiggled trying to free itself from her grasp.

She initially defended her actions, claiming she did not harm the joey and only held it for one minute.

‘For everyone that’s worried and unhappy, the baby was carefully held for ONE minute in total and then released back to mum,’ she wrote.

‘They wandered back off into the bush together completely unharmed. I didn’t think I would be able to catch it in the first place, and took an opportunity to appreciate a really incredible animal up close. 

‘I don’t ever capture wildlife that will be harmed by my doing so.’

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Strable for comment. 

LONDON:

A UK court on Thursday upheld lengthy prison terms handed to the father and stepmother of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl who was killed after suffering years of torture and abuse.

The trial of Urfan Sharif and his wife Beinash Batool caused waves of revulsion in the UK at the horrific way they had treated Sara Sharif.

There was anger too at how the bright, bubbly youngster had been failed by the authorities supposed to be in charge of her care.

Sharif, 43, Batool, 30, and her uncle, Faisal Malik, 29, all lost bids on Thursday to appeal against their sentences.

The court also refused a plea by the solicitor general’s office to impose a stiffer whole-life sentence on Sharif.

Sara’s father was sentenced in December to 40 years in prison for her murder, while her stepmother was ordered to remain in jail for at least 33 years.

Her uncle was sentenced to 16 years after being found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

Sara’s body was found in bed at the family home in August 2023 covered in bites and bruises with broken bones and burns inflicted by an electric iron and boiling water.

Seeking to reduce Sharif’s term, lawyer Naeem Majid Mian argued that although Sara’s treatment had been “horrendous” it did not merit his 40-year sentence. “There was no intention to kill… and (the death) was not premeditated,” he added.

But documents submitted to the court on behalf of the solicitor general, one of the government’s top legal officers, called for Sharif to have an indefinite sentence imposed.

“It is submitted that the judge was wrong not to impose a whole life order on the offender,” said lawyer Tom Little in a text submission.

A lawyer for Sara’s stepmother also told the court that her sentence of 33 years was too long and did not “justly reflect her role”.

Dismissing Sharif’s appeal, Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr, the highest-ranking judge in England and Wales, said: “We can see no arguable basis to challenge the conclusion of the trial judge.”

Passing sentence in December after the trial, judge John Cavanagh said Sara had been subjected to “acts of extreme cruelty” but that Sharif and Batool had not shown “a shred of remorse”.

They had treated Sara as “worthless” and as “a skivvy”, because she was a girl. And because she was not Batool’s child by birth, the stepmother had failed to protect her, he said.

“This poor child was battered with great force again and again.”

A post-mortem examination of Sara’s body revealed she had 71 fresh injuries and at least 25 broken bones.

She had been beaten with a metal pole and cricket bat and “trussed up” with a “grotesque combination of parcel tape, a rope and a plastic bag” over her head.

A hole was cut in the bag so she could breathe and she was left to soil herself in nappies as she was prevented from using the bathroom.

Police called the case “one of the most difficult and distressing” they had ever dealt with.

The day after Sara died, the three adults fled their home in Woking, southwest of London, and flew to Pakistan with five other children.

Her father, a taxi driver, left behind a handwritten note saying he had not meant to kill his daughter.

After a month on the run, the three returned to the UK and were arrested after they landed. The five other children remain in Pakistan.

There has been anger in the UK that Sara’s brutal treatment was missed by social services after her father withdrew her from school four months before she died.

Sharif and his first wife, Olga, were well known to social services.

In 2019, a judge decided to award the care of Sara and an older brother to Sharif, despite his history of abuse.

The school had three times raised the alarm about Sara’s case, notably after she arrived in class wearing a hijab which she used to try to cover marks on her body which she refused to explain.

Any parent watching Adolescence — the searing Netflix drama about a 13-year-old boy whose ill-advised interactions with a girl on Instagram lead to tragedy — will no doubt cry and rage and feel terrified that something similar might happen to their child. Because the jeopardy around how boys and girls conduct themselves on social media these days is very real and quite terrifying.

As the mother of a 14-year-boy and 18-year-old girl, I hear stories all the time of children who have been called out for inappropriate behaviour or comments about others on Instagram and Snapchat. Often they have been in the wrong. Should have known better. Been disrespectful. Objectifying. You think, have they learnt nothing in their PSHE (personal, social, health and economic) classes?

When you grow up, it’s your chance to truly live life on your own terms and figure out the best way to do so. One 28-year-old daughter found it hard to let go, however. Her parents were guilt-tripping and shaming her and demanded she share the money she’d worked hard to earn to help them get out of debt.

A daughter explained that her parents want to use her savings to pay their debt.

“I … have been financially independent since I was 18,” she revealed in a Reddit post. “I worked through college, took on side gigs and budgeted aggressively to build my savings.” This is in stark contrast to how she was raised. “I didn’t grow up with much,” she admitted. “My parents always struggled with money, and I saw firsthand how stressful financial instability was. That’s why I was so determined to create a safety net for myself.”

The woman was trying to keep her savings quiet, but her parents still heard about it. “Recently, my parents found out that I have a significant amount saved,” she shared. “I didn’t tell them directly; my younger sister let it slip in conversation. The moment they heard, it was like a switch flipped.”

Mikhail Nilov | Pexels

Now, her parents are all but begging her to help them out financially. “Suddenly, they started making comments about how family should support each other and how they sacrificed so much to raise me,” she continued. “Then they got more direct asking for money to pay off their debts and help with their mortgage.”

The woman wants her family to know she is there for them, but she also doesn’t want to allow them to depend on her for money. Her parents’ financial struggles run deep. According to her, “They’ve taken out loans they couldn’t afford, co-signed for family members who never paid them back and spent money on luxuries while struggling to cover basics. I knew that if I gave them anything, it wouldn’t be a one-time thing. It would open the door to them relying on me permanently.”

RELATED: Retired Parents Secretly Got A $30K Personal Loan In Their Child’s Name To Buy A Boat & Now Refuse To Pay Because ‘They Wanted To Enjoy Retirement’

This daughter did the only thing she felt like she could do in this uncomfortable situation — refuse to help.

“I told them no,” she stated. “I explained that I worked hard to build my savings and wasn’t in a position to just hand over large amounts of money. They weren’t happy.”

“My mom started crying, saying she never thought her daughter would turn her back on family. My dad got angry, saying if I had enough to save, I had enough to share. They even suggested that if I didn’t want to ‘donate’ the money, I could at least give them a loan, though they had no actual plan to pay it back.”

Pavel Danilyuk | Pexels

Still, she stood her ground. “When I still refused, things got worse,” she said. “They started calling me selfish and ungrateful, reminding me of everything they did for me growing up. My sister has taken their side, saying I have more than enough and should help the people who raised me. Even extended family has chimed in, acting like I’m hoarding wealth while my parents struggle.”

After all of this, she said she feels “stuck” and doesn’t want her relationship with her family to be over. Be that as it may, she also doesn’t want to be treated this way.

RELATED: Man’s Mother-In-Law Tells Him To Save His Money For Her Retirement Fund — ‘The Plan Is To Live Off Me’

Parenting is financially challenging, but that doesn’t mean kids should have to repay their parents.

A survey from Lending Tree found that raising children costs $11,505 per year per kid, and 90% of parents think it would be easier if they had more money.

Caleb Oquendo | Pexels

While that may be true, as multiple Redditors pointed out in comments, this woman’s parents were just doing their duty as parents. She is in no way obligated to pay them back for what they did or “donate” money to them to make life easier for them now. Sadly, they are using her love to try and guilt and manipulate her into handing over cash that they aren’t entitled to, especially given their track record.

RELATED: Adult Son Worried About Having To Support His Boomer Mom Who Won’t Get A Job — ‘Didn’t Work When I Was Young & Not About To Start Now’

Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.

A US hunting influencer who caused outrage in Australia after grabbing a baby wombat from its mother has left the country after the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, said immigration authorities were checking if she had breached the conditions of her visa.

A government source told the Guardian that Montana-based Sam Jones had left the country on Friday morning.

Burke, who is also the immigration minister, said on Thursday that he couldn’t “wait to see the back of this individual” and authorities were “working through the conditions” on Jones’s visa to determine “whether immigration law has been breached”.

That review was still ongoing when Jones made the decision herself to leave the country, Guardian Australia understands. Burke was contacted for comment.

Jones had shared footage on Instagram of herself approaching and then grabbing the wombat joey as it walked with its mother at an unknown location

She then ran with the joey towards the camera, with a seemingly distressed mother wombat following and circling in the background. The joey hissed and screeched as Jones held it up and told the camera: “I caught a baby wombat.” The joey was then released by the side of the road.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said Jones’s actions were “an outrage” and suggested she should try and “take a baby crocodile from its mother and see how you go there.”

RSCPA Australia said the footage showed a “blatant disregard” for native wildlife and the distress to the joey and the mother caused by the “callous act” was clear.

The Instagram account where Jones shared the footage was turned to private and a TikTok account also disappeared. The footage sparked thousands of angry comments on social media sites where the clip was widely reshared.

A new Tik Tok account claiming to have been created by Jones after she was previously “banned” posted two messages. The Guardian has been unable to confirm if the account was genuine.

In one message, the account creator said she was “really sorry about the wombat incident” and that “it was a mistake.”

In another later message, posted around midnight on Thursday, the creator of the account wrote to “fellow fans and haters” that the hate was “too much for me to handle”.

“You guys are insane,” the account said. “I get hundreds of dea** threats for picking up an animal. WT*? imagine someone just goes up to your child and curses at them.? Lets have some respect.”

If there’s one thing that sets New York prog-rock group Coheed and Cambria apart, it’s their unmatched ability to tell a gripping story through their records. Their latest release, The Father of Make Believe, marks their eleventh concept album and the third instalment in their Vaxis series. With lead vocalist Claudio Sanchez also being a prolific writer, his comic book series The Armory Wars serves as the foundational lore for all of their albums, weaving intricate narratives across their vast discography. But lore aside, The Father of Make Believe is an album that stands strong in its own musical merits.

Opening with “Yesterday’s Lost”, the tone is immediately set. A delicate piano solo introduces the records before Sanchez’s subdued vocals creep in, accompanied by a jangly, happy-sounding acoustic guitar. The lyrics, “If this life ends early, would I have spent our time right? Here at your mercy or lost in our biggest fight?” give the first taste of the album’s story, setting an introspective, almost wistful atmosphere.

Contrastingly, “Goodbye Sunshine” is big from the get-go, bursting in with a driving rhythm section powered by drummer, Josh Eppard. Its a pop-rock anthem with with infectious melodies, full to the brim with energy. This is a track that even casual listeners will be able to enjoy, without delving deep into the album’s lore. “Searching For Tomorrow” is a huge standout, opening with an electronic-infused intro before transitioning into a rapid, intricate guitar riff courtesy of Travis Stever. The track maintains a palpable sense of urgency, propelled by dynamic drum work and layered instrumentation. Meanwhile, the titular track, “The Father of Make Believe”, is a theatrical piece. It epitomises what makes Coheed and Cambria so special- blending complex storytelling with explosive energy, soaring guitar work and a catchy melody.

“Meri of Mercy” takes a more delicate approach, beginning with an emotive piano introduction before subtly building into a full-on rock ballad. The song is from the perspective of protagonist Sirius Armory, pouring his heart out to his wife, Meri. The lyrics, “Meri, I’m not gonna quit until I can see the end of this life with you there beside me,” lay the emotional core of the album bare. In contrast, “Blind Side Sonny” injects a bit of a country-rock flair with bluesy undertones and raw, shouty vocals. While I can appreciate that it serves as a significant role in the album’s narrative, its placement feels slightly disjointed in the grander scheme.

“Play The Poet” carries a frenetic energy that is reminiscent of My Chemical Romance, specifically their Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge era. Its punchy, urgent sound makes for an exhilarating listen. “One Last Miracle”, while carrying a slightly darker sonic aesthetic, balances its moody verses with an anthem, sing-along chorus that is sure to get stuck in your head.

“Corner My Confidence” is a quiet, reflective ballad. While full-length, it feels more like an interlude, marking a pivotal shift in the album’s story. The band’s ability to build atmosphere and anticipation shines here, making it a moment of pause before the album’s final stretch. “Someone Who Can” has a strong early 2000s rock influence, reminiscent of bands like Matchbox Twenty. This track is polished yet restrained, finding a perfect balance between rock energy and emotional weight.

The album closes with “The Continuum”, a four-part epic, each section told from a different character’s perspective. This ambitious suit showcases the band’s ability to shift musical styles while maintaining a cohesive narrative. The final part, “So It Goes”, is quite a whimsical closing track. Beginning with playful instrumentation and light-hearted vocals, it culminates in a grandiose string arrangement that feels like the perfect cinematic conclusion. The mixture of piano, electronic elements, intricate guitar lines and Sanchez’s beautiful vocals make for a breathtaking finale- an ambitious move that is executed flawlessly.

The Father of Make Believe is a really enjoyable record. As someone who was relatively new to the expansive lore of Coheed and Cambria’s previous ten albums, I found it to be just as engaging on a first listen as it was after diving deeper into the story. Whether you’re entering the Armory Wars universe blindly or you’ve been eagerly anticipating the next chapter in the saga, listeners will not be disappointed. This album is yet another testament to Sanchez’s exceptional storytelling, paired with the band’s ability to craft grand, multi-layered compositions that feel both larger-than-life yet deeply personal. Each track on this record carries weight, blending genres and sonic textures in a way that only Coheed and Cambria can, further proving their place as one of the most innovative bands in modern rock.

FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

The Father of Make Believe is out now – grab a copy HERE

Vanessa Trump has found herself back in the spotlight amid reports that she is secretly dating Tiger Woods. 

The former model and mother-of-five, who was once married to Donald Trump Jr., is said to have grown close to the golf legend in recent months, with both of them living in the exclusive enclave of Palm Beach, Florida. While neither has confirmed the nature of their relationship, the rumors have certainly set tongues wagging.

Vanessa Trump’s upbringing

Vanessa has led a fascinating life, from dating Hollywood stars to becoming an heiress almost overnight. She grew up on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in a world of privilege, attending an elite private school with tuition fees of around $50,000 a year. Even as a teenager, she caught the attention of the tabloids, with reports linking her to actor Leonardo DiCaprio in 1998 when she was just 20 years old. She later had a brief romance with Saudi diplomat Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud, which at one point had some speculating that she could become a princess.

Vanessa Trump’s career

Her own career saw her step into the modeling world, walking runways and gracing magazine pages for nearly a decade. She even had a brush with Hollywood, appearing in the star-studded 2003 romantic comedy Something’s Gotta Give alongside Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. But despite her early success, it wasn’t modeling or acting that secured her financial future.

Vanessa Trump’s net worth

In 2017, Vanessa’s family came into a staggering windfall when a business investment made by her late father paid off in spectacular fashion. Charles Haydon, a high-profile lawyer, had invested $1 million in Rao’s Homemade, the pasta sauce brand associated with the legendary New York restaurant group. Twenty-five years later, the company was acquired, and Vanessa’s inherited share was reported to be worth around $62 million before taxes, instantly making her one of the wealthiest women in the Trump circle.

Vanessa Trump’s marriage to Donald Jr

Just a year later, she filed for divorce from Donald Jr. after 13 years of marriage. The couple, who had been introduced by Donald Trump Sr. at a fashion show in 2003, tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in 2005. Their engagement had already made headlines, with reports revealing that her $100,000 diamond ring had been obtained for free as part of a promotional deal when Donald Jr. staged a photo op outside a New Jersey mall jewelry store.

Vanessa Trump’s children

The couple went on to have five children together: Kai, Donald John III, Tristan, Spencer, and Chloe. While Vanessa briefly dabbled in running her own handbag line, she ultimately embraced life as a stay-at-home mother, making it clear that her family was her priority. Her social media presence reflects that, with much of her content focused on parenting and the joys and challenges of raising five children.

During the pandemic, Vanessa took on the task of homeschooling her kids, admitting that it wasn’t easy but that she was determined to ensure their education continued uninterrupted. “My children are my life,” she has said, reinforcing that, despite the high-profile world she has lived in, her role as a mother is what matters most to her.

As a parent, it may feel like managing your child’s sleep habits is an uphill battle—the busy swirl of school, extra-curricular activities, and the family circus can make getting to bed a chore. But sleep is not just important for physical health—it is essential for mental health, too. Getting to bed on time can be a challenge for busy families but it’s possible to build a good rest routine to support children’s emotional and cognitive resilience.

Clinical psychologist Brian Razzino, Ph.D. stresses the importance of sleep as the “foundation” of mental health. “Think of sleep as the foundation of a house—if it’s shaky, everything built on it becomes unstable,” he says. “Chronic sleep deprivation undermines our emotional ‘blueprints,’ making us more prone to mood swings, heightened stress responses, and persistent anxiety.”

Dr. Razzino describes an emotional blueprint as the underlying structure or framework that shapes how a person experiences, processes, and expresses emotions.

The Link Between Sleep and Mental Health

When sleep is inadequate over long periods, it can significantly impact mood regulation, emotional stability, and mental health. Research highlights a direct link between chronic sleep deprivation and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. In a 2020 review in the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that individuals suffering from chronic insomnia were more likely to develop mood disorders. This reinforces the understanding that poor sleep is not just a symptom, but a contributing factor to mental health challenges.

Dr. Razzino says that “over time, insufficient sleep is strongly linked to a higher risk of clinical depression and more severe anxiety disorders,” and the effects are not limited to adults. Children and adolescents with disrupted sleep patterns are also at greater risk for mental health struggles. A 2024 study by renowned sleep researcher Evelyn Touchette and colleagues revealed that kids experiencing sleep difficulties, such as trouble falling asleep, were at an elevated risk for depression, ADHD, and conduct problems by age 15.

Dr. Razzino compares a child’s brain to a cluttered office by day’s end, with sleep serving as the cleaning crew that clears out waste and reorganizes for a fresh start the next day.

“Sleep acts as the brain’s overnight maintenance crew,” Dr. Razzino explains. “During sleep, our minds consolidate memories, process stressors, and strengthen the neural connections critical for learning. But when sleep is interrupted, these repair cycles are shortened, leading to deficits in emotional regulation and cognitive performance.”

While the link between sleep and emotional well-being is undeniable, emotional regulation and emotional resilience often become key areas of concern in children and adolescents facing sleep disturbances. From a clinical standpoint, understanding how sleep deprivation affects emotional responses is crucial, and learning how to implement age-appropriate support strategies can help mitigate these effects.

For children, sleep disruptions—such as long sleep latency (difficulty falling asleep)—can be particularly detrimental. “Even one aspect of sleep disruption can gradually undermine the brain’s nightly ‘maintenance,’ leading to challenges in managing everyday stress, learning effectively, and developing stable emotional patterns,” Dr. Razzino adds.

Sleep-Deprived Parents Suffer, Too

Sleep deprivation doesn’t only affect children; it also has serious repercussions for adult mental health. Rebekka Wall, a certified adolescent and adult sleep consultant explains, “Chronic lack of sleep affects our mental health because it increases stress, impairs our emotional regulation, and reduces our overall resilience to mental, emotional, and physical challenges.” Though parents may be able to push through sleep deprivation, adults, like children, need quality sleep to maintain their mental well-being, and going without rest can lead to a similar cascade of negative effects.

“When we lack sleep, we experience irritability, brain fog, and the parts of the brain that help us manage emotions don’t function as they should,” says Wall. “This results in an inability to cope effectively with stress, increased anxiety, and even symptoms of depression.” While addressing sleep and emotional regulation in children is crucial, it’s important to recognize the immense challenge parents face in ensuring everyone gets adequate rest—particularly when caring for younger children.

A 2019 study in the journal Sleep found that parents are sleep-deprived for the first six years of a child’s life, which can significantly impact their own mental health and emotional well-being. With this in mind, let’s consider how these challenges can affect both parents and children, and explore how emotional regulation strategies can help support the entire family.

This helps transition smoothly into the idea that the struggles with sleep are not just individual but family-wide, with both parents and children impacted. It also sets the stage for further exploration of emotional regulation in the context of those challenges.

“In a world where many adults are already juggling multiple responsibilities, lack of sleep exacerbates the challenges of parenting and work, making it more difficult to maintain emotional stability,” says Wall. 

How Families Can Improve Sleep Hygiene

A 2018 study found that children with consistent bedtime routines have better executive function, school readiness, and overall well-being. Structured sleep routines not only improve rest but also support cognitive development and emotional health.

Parents play a vital role in shaping their children’s sleep habits, which can significantly influence their mental health. Dr. Razzino suggests, by focusing on simple strategies for improving sleep hygiene, parents can help set the stage for better emotional regulation, cognitive function, and overall well-being. Here are his tips:

Regular Bedtimes: Establishing a consistent bedtime helps synchronize the body’s internal clock, leading to smoother mornings and better sleep quality.

Relaxing Rituals: Engaging in calming activities, such as reading a book or listening to soft music before bed, can help children transition from the busyness of the day to a state of relaxation, optimizing the brain’s nightly cleanup work.

Limit Screen Time: Reducing screen time by at least one hour before bed helps prevent overstimulation and allows the brain to unwind properly before sleep.

Create a Sleep-Conducive Environment: A dark, quiet, and cool environment is ideal for promoting restorative sleep.

Improving your child’s sleep hygiene not only benefits their mental health but also enhances the well-being of parents. “A well-rested child often means a well-rested parent,” says Wall. Parents who prioritize sleep for their children experience reduced stress and improved emotional regulation, leading to a more harmonious home environment.

Fostering Better Sleep Habits

The link between sleep and mental health is undeniable. Parents can play an active role in fostering better sleep habits for their children, which, in turn, contributes to emotional resilience and cognitive development. As Dr. Razzino emphasizes, “Sleep is the foundation for emotional health—strengthen it, and everything else falls into place.”

By improving sleep hygiene, both children and parents can better cope with life’s stresses, creating a more balanced, mentally healthy family dynamic.

In the world of traditional print publishing, a grade-A Editor can usually properly judge if a book is worthy of representation within the first 5-to-10 pages. I’m now having a similar moment following the conclusion of a new trailer for the much-anticipated Silent Hill f. The next mainline SH title has the burden of the entire franchise on its shoulders (I know, Bloober Team — it’s for dramatic effect). So, the fact that everyone involved with the project intimately understands why the best of the series is as beloved as it is? Let’s go, Konami.

Look at it. God, it’s gorgeous. Yes, it’s just a cinematic trailer. “It didn’t even show any gameplay, so what are you talking about?” Obviously, you didn’t watch the Silent Hill Transmission event where some of the title’s leads talked about what players can expect! But, of course, leave it to the “fans” to be up in arms over the Japan setting. Ready for some nuclear takes? I am.

Videos by VICE

And a-one: “Thought i was watching fatal frame trailer. I dont get silent hill vibes.” And a-two: “Graphics look so bad, doesn’t even seem like a Silent Hill game either.” And a-blue-skidoo: “Cool, but what exactly is the relevance to Silent Hill?” Y’all aren’t going to ruin my high this time. I trust you, Konami. You packaged it, wrapped it up nicely, and sold it to me at a bargain!

I’m sure konami will be real heartbroken when they cash those ‘silent hill f’ checks

There’s even a long-winded comment talking about the cults, demon gods, and other such nonsense Silent Hill fans definitely discuss as their favorite parts of the lore. Let’s make one thing clear: the best SH games are top-tier character studies. We can argue about the intricacies of Silent Hill until everyone passes out from exhaustion. But it’s the interpersonal struggles and the call to overcome them that make the games so great.

Raise your hand if you care about the stupid cult. That rarely gets mentioned anyway because Silent Hill isn’t an external action romp but a terrifying mirror into those parts of the self that are impossible to confront. Anyway, Konami did their thing, and I couldn’t be more thrilled about what we learned about Silent Hill f. Bloober Team lit the match, and now it’s time for the heavy-hitter to burn the house down.