The best (and worst) states for your child's education

TOP OF MIND

The best schools in America are in...
...Massachusetts!

WalletHub recently looked through a slew of data to put together a pretty detailed ranking of the U.S. school system.

According to their findings, Massachusetts has the best public school system in the country, which honestly checks out. You basically need a doctorate to remember how to spell Massachusetts.

The safety rating included youth incarceration rates, share of threatened or injured students, number of school shootings and reported incidents of bullying.

Massachusetts was ranked number one in quality and two in safety. You can click here to see where your state ranks.

The important bits
Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and Wisconsin make up the rest of the top five states. You'll notice that all of them, save for Wisconsin, are located in the northeast. 

Why is that? Money, money, money! States in the northeast have for years recorded the highest per-pupil spending. Meanwhile, schools in the south and west have typically spent the least, and it shows in the rankings.

The worst states for your child's education? New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arizona, Alaska and Louisiana. 

Of note, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana also have some of the highest childhood poverty rates in the United States. Mississippi has the highest, and they're also firmly in the bottom ten when it comes to public education. Meanwhile, states like Connecticut and Massachusetts have much lower childhood poverty rates.

What's it all mean?
Money matters. And it seems that if we want to improve our public school system here in the U.S., we have to first improve our kids' quality of life at home.

DID YOU HEAR

😎 Forget everything we just said
We don't need more money in our schools or more food on our table to improve our education system... we just need the Squirrel AI tutor! The Squirrel's AI system is classified as a large adaptive model, which is a more advanced system than something like ChatGPT. This new system can learn and adapt to new data. Derek Haoyang Li founded the company, and he believes AI tutors can make the human brain "10 times smarter."  The system is already being tested in schools across the country, and while it hasn't created hordes of little Einsteins, it has improved students' grades and engagement.

🌬️ Is it safe to clear a baby's nose with your mouth?
No one likes getting a stuffy nose, but babies especially don't like it because they haven't exactly mastered breathing out of their mouth yet. When a baby's nose is stuffed, their whole routine can change. They will often not feed or sleep if their nose is congested. For decades, some mothers have corrected this problem by plugging one side of their baby's nose, placing their mouth over theirs to form a seal, and then blowing a quick puff of air to clear the nostril. But is this method actually safe? Some doctors say no, mainly because of the potential spread of germs. Instead, they recommend something like NoseFrida.

👅 Doctors warn against tongue-tie surgeries
The American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents nearly 70,000 doctors, just released a report warning against the overuse of tongue-tie surgeries. The procedures, which often cost several hundred dollars, are apparently only necessary for a small fraction of infants with severely tethered tongues. Some dentists and lactation consultants "aggressively promote the surgery," as a solution for breastfeeding difficulties, despite the risk of side effects. Before opting for surgery, maybe try these tips and tricks first!

🤱 Speaking of breastfeeding... this mom wants her pre-baby boobs back
New mom Rebecca Cope wrote a pretty powerful essay in Vogue about how much her body has changed after giving birth, specifically her boobs. She said she knew certain areas of her body would never be the same, like her tummy and pelvic floor, but she wasn't at all prepared for the changes in her breasts. Now she's trying to figure out how to get them back.

🎂 Parents in Silicon Valley are dropping $60,000 on their kids' birthday parties
And this journalist is getting an inside look at some of the ridiculous parties.

A DOSE OF GOOD

BITES WITH KIYAH

After the attention this video has been getting online, I feel the need to make a public service announcement to all the parents out there who think that every family meal needs to be instagrammable: IT DOES NOT. 

The sheer volume of cooking that is required of you (seriously, do you know how many meals you'll make for your kids?!) means that statistically some of them are bound to be duds. Some are sure to be complete failures and not worth snapping a pic. Someone (maybe even you) will end up in tears at some point. All of this is normal. Besides, instagrammable meals are overrated. Beauty can happen amidst a mess, too. (Share with a friend who needs to hear!)

Kiyah is the co-founder of Kizingo Kids and an expert in nutrition. Follow her on Instagram.

ON A BUDGET

Could the “6 to 1” method save you $$$ at the grocery store?
The "6 to 1" grocery shopping method is growing in popularity on the internet. The craze was started by Chef Will Coleman, who posted a video to TikTok explaining the details of the grocery store hack. 

The process is rather simple: six veggies, five fruits, four proteins, three starches, two sauces or spreads, and one fun thing for yourself.

Coleman claims if you stick to only adding those items in your cart, you'll save money at the store and you won't be as stressed during the shopping process. This mom tried it at Trader Joe's, and she loved it, noting she spent over $50 less than she typically does.

Proponents of the method also say it's easily customizable. For example, you could buy six veggies, five proteins, four starches, three fruits, and so on. Or in our case, you could grab six packages of Oreos and call it a day.

Wondering which grocery store you should try this out in? Well, you can take a look at this list breaking down the best stores for saving money.

HERE’S A QUESTION

Last week, we asked you where you store your bread, and nearly 50% of you said, "on the counter" while "in the freezer" came in a close second.