But first, meet William Owen Hanna, a veteran, deacon and superager who still makes time to bowl every week after a century of living.

In the wake of the Cornell University sexual assault case, parents talk to their sons about consent and speaking up

Rachelle Wilson’s 12-year-old son was in the back seat of her car when she took a call from a friend on speakerphone. The two women were stunned by news of a lawsuit against Wilson’s friend’s alma mater, Cornell University, as well as the Chi Phi fraternity, the accuser’s own sorority and seven young men. In the suit, Jane Doe alleges she attended a party at the fraternity house where she was plied with alcohol and drugs and then raped by seven men. The woman reported the incident to Cornell police three weeks later, but no criminal charges were ever filed. 

Lawyers for at least three of the men accused deny any criminal wrongdoing; others have not yet made public comments. “I just can’t believe that this is still where we’re at,” Wilson remembered saying, finding the details almost too much to absorb. “I can believe it,” her son piped in from the backseat. He remarked that sexual assault allegations are everywhere, including among people in power. At just 12 years old, he had already determined that it’s just the way of the world, she told the New York Times.

Similar conversations are unfolding in homes across the country as the Cornell case raises hard questions about why so little seems to have changed after decades of campus anti-assault campaigns and the #MeToo movement. In online parenting groups, mothers and fathers are trading advice on how to talk with their boys about the case – and about these difficult and important subjects more broadly.

For Salt Lake City content creator Alan Gilliam, the lesson is as much about bystanders taking action as it is about consent. After he and his wife discussed the case with their two older sons, ages 11 and 9, he posted a video quizzing them about consent and encouraged other fathers to do the same. According to the lawsuit, a fraternity member allegedly invited others to join the assault through a Snapchat group chat message. “Out of 50-something men, not one person said, ‘Hey, man, what the hell are you guys doing?'” Gilliam explained.

The conversation between Victoria Wickman, a Staten Island-based attorney who has worked on campus sexual assault cases, and her 16-year-old son began when he told her she would never have to worry about him remaining silent if he saw someone being hurt. “But I do worry about you,” she replied. They went on to discuss consent, the risks of casual sex and how drugs and alcohol can cloud judgment. Wickman encouraged his impetus to speak up, urging him to step in even if it made him the odd man out. “It’s your moral obligation as a human being to take care of that person,” she said.

For some parents, the news forced the conversation to happen sooner than they had planned. As a survivor of sexual abuse, Claire Gibson of Nashville had talked with her 6- and 8-year-old sons about sex and consent many times. But she had not intended to bring up the Cornell case until it arose during dinner, as the family shared the day’s highs and lows. “This is definitely the first time I have talked about violence and sex with my children,” she said. 

Wilson admits the repeated conversations wear on her. “I hate it,” she said. But she sees them as parts of a necessary discussion that never really ends.

ADHD can make friendships harder for kids. Here’s how parents can help.

For many kids, losing a board game stings for a minute. But for a child with ADHD, the situation can spiral into a meltdown. Moments like these add up, along with other outbursts or mishaps triggered by impulsivity, inattention and intense emotions — the hallmark traits of ADHD — and can make it harder for kids with the condition to build friendships.

Impulsivity can prompt children to interrupt or barge into a game, which “can sometimes be interpreted as being rude, bossy, or controlling, when that is not the child’s intention at all,” psychiatrist Dr. Mukesh Kripalani told HuffPost UK. Others, who struggle with attention, drift off mid-conversation or miss social cues indicating that a friend is bored. The good news is that friendship skills can be taught, much like reading or tying a shoe. “The aim is not to make a child change who they are, but to give them the language and tools to understand social situations and communicate what they need,” said educational and child psychologist Sasha Hall.

Practice helps. Parents can role-play simple openers like “Can I play too?,” and rehearse phrases for which a child can reach when frustration builds, such as “I need some space” or “Can we stop for a minute?” Learning to recognize emotions can become a game, too, through emotion cards, making faces in a mirror or pausing a TV show to ask how a character feels. When things go wrong, Kripalani suggests waiting until a child is calm, then gently asking, “How do you think your friend felt?” as a short social debrief.

While still learning, setting matters as much as skills. Kripalani suggests keeping early playdates to about an hour, with one friend and a planned activity like Lego or baking, since open-ended group play can be overwhelming. Well-timed snack breaks can also defuse any rising tension. Before parties or outings, parents can walk kids through what to expect, set a goal or two and agree on a discreet signal or phrase the child can use when the situation is becoming too stressful. 

Mistakes will still happen, so kids need to know how to make things right. “For children who are impulsive, learning how to repair a situation can be just as valuable as learning how to prevent the difficulty in the first place,” Hall said. 

At the same time, parents should also develop their own habit of catching their kids succeeding. Children with ADHD hear plenty of criticism, Kripalani said, and they tend to take the negative input to heart. So a well-placed “I noticed your kindness” or “I saw you patiently allow your friend to choose the game” can go a long way. “Praising the process and the social skills the child is developing can help build confidence and reduce the sense that they are always getting things wrong,” he said.

In other news…

The Trump administration is attempting to gut Head Start, and the program’s mental health consultants are in its crosshairs. The social-emotional specialists at Head Start are needed now more than ever, as growing numbers of children are left devastated by a parent being detained or deported by ICE. Trump’s rule changes would eliminate the requirements that all Head Start programs use mental health consultants, prohibit expulsions, provide dual language communication and maintain high teacher-to-student ratios. In our latest story on the issue, Laurie Udesky reports from a Head Start program in San Francisco. Also, see our earlier story about the growing evidence that being in Head Start as a child helps prevent gun violence in young adults.

When mom needs a minute: Parents today spend more time on work and child care than they did two decades ago according to a 2024 advisory from the surgeon general, and that pressure can leave little patience to spare. In her new book, “Mom Needs a Moment,” therapist and mother of three Cassidy Freitas argues that parents can regroup in the margins or the small pauses scattered through the day. When the morning rush turns chaotic, she puts a hand on her chest and takes a few slow breaths to signal to herself and her kids that she is taking a second to reset. Afterward, she looks at what was underneath the anger. “Anger can show up as a protector emotion when underneath we might feel overwhelmed or unheard,” she told NPR. 

Feeling guilty about taking time for yourself? Grant yourself the same grace you would give your best friend, Freitas says. And when you do lose your cool, take accountability and talk it through with your kids. “Kids love that; they want to see you as a human being,” she said. Plus, knowing that parents make mistakes they have to fix makes it easier for them to do the same. “Repair is the most powerful tool in our parenting belt,” Freitas said.