Jane Goodall, the gentle disrupter whose research on chimpanzees redefined what it meant to be human

Jane Goodall appears on stage at 92NY in New York on Oct. 1, 2023. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Mireya Mayor, Florida International University

Anyone proposing to offer a master class on changing the world for the better, without becoming negative, cynical, angry or narrow-minded in the process, could model their advice on the life and work of pioneering animal behavior scholar Jane Goodall.

Goodall’s life journey stretches from marveling at the somewhat unremarkable creatures – though she would never call them that – in her English backyard as a wide-eyed little girl in the 1930s to challenging the very definition of what it means to be human through her research on chimpanzees in Tanzania. From there, she went on to become a global icon and a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Until her death on Oct. 1, 2025 at age 91, Goodall retained a charm, open-mindedness, optimism and wide-eyed wonder that are more typical of children. I know this because I have been fortunate to spend time with her and to share insights from my own scientific career. To the public, she was a world-renowned scientist and icon. To me, she was Jane – my inspiring mentor and friend.

Despite the massive changes Goodall wrought in the world of science, upending the study of animal behavior, she was always cheerful, encouraging and inspiring. I think of her as a gentle disrupter. One of her greatest gifts was her ability to make everyone, at any age, feel that they have the power to change the world.

Jane Goodall documented that chimpanzees not only used tools but make them – an insight that altered thinking about animals and humans.

Discovering tool use in animals

In her pioneering studies in the lush rainforest of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream Game Reserve, now a national park, Goodall noted that the most successful chimp leaders were gentle, caring and familial. Males that tried to rule by asserting their dominance through violence, tyranny and threat did not last.

I also am a primatologist, and Goodall’s groundbreaking observations of chimpanzees at Gombe were part of my preliminary studies. She famously recorded chimps taking long pieces of grass and inserting them into termite nests to “fish” for the insects to eat, something no one else had previously observed.

It was the first time an animal had been seen using a tool, a discovery that altered how scientists differentiated between humanity and the rest of the animal kingdom.

Renowned anthropologist Louis Leakey chose Goodall to do this work precisely because she was not formally trained. When she turned up in Leakey’s office in Tanzania in 1957, at age 23, Leakey initially hired her as his secretary, but he soon spotted her potential and encouraged her to study chimpanzees. Leakey wanted someone with a completely open mind, something he believed most scientists lost over the course of their formal training.

Because chimps are humans’ closest living relatives, Leakey hoped that understanding the animals would provide insights into early humans. In a predominantly male field, he also thought a woman would be more patient and insightful than a male observer. He wasn’t wrong.

Six months in, when Goodall wrote up her observations of chimps using tools, Leakey wrote, “Now we must redefine tool, redefine Man, or accept chimpanzees as human.”

Goodall spoke of animals as having emotions and cultures, and in the case of chimps, communities that were almost tribal. She also named the chimps she observed, an unheard-of practice at the time, garnering ridicule from scientists who had traditionally numbered their research subjects.

One of her most remarkable observations became known as the Gombe Chimp War. It was a four-year-long conflict in which eight adult males from one community killed all six males of another community, taking over their territory, only to lose it to another, bigger community with even more males.

Confidence in her path

Goodall was persuasive, powerful and determined, and she often advised me not to succumb to people’s criticisms. Her path to groundbreaking discoveries did not involve stepping on people or elbowing competitors aside.

Rather, her journey to Africa was motivated by her wonder, her love of animals and a powerful imagination. As a little girl, she was entranced by Edgar Rice Burroughs’ 1912 story “Tarzan of the Apes,” and she loved to joke that Tarzan married the wrong Jane.

When I was a 23-year-old former NFL cheerleader, with no scientific background at that time, and looked at Goodall’s work, I imagined that I, too, could be like her. In large part because of her, I became a primatologist, co-discovered a new species of lemur in Madagascar and have had an amazing life and career, in science and on TV, as a National Geographic explorer.
When it came time to write my own story, I asked Goodall to contribute the introduction. She wrote:

“Mireya Mayor reminds me a little of myself. Like me she loved being with animals when she was a child. And like me she followed her dream until it became a reality.”

In a 2023 interview, Jane Goodall answers TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s questions about chimpanzee behavior.

Storyteller and teacher

Goodall was an incredible storyteller and saw it as the most successful way to help people understand the true nature of animals. With compelling imagery, she shared extraordinary stories about the intelligence of animals, from apes and dolphins to rats and birds, and, of course, the octopus. She inspired me to become a wildlife correspondent for National Geographic so that I could share the stories and plights of endangered animals around the world.

Goodall inspired and advised world leaders, celebrities, scientists and conservationists. She also touched the lives of millions of children.

Jane Goodall and primatologist Mireya Mayor with Mayor’s book ‘Just Wild Enough,’ a memoir aimed at young readers. Mireya Mayor, CC BY-ND

Through the Jane Goodall Institute, which works to engage people around the world in conservation, she launched Roots & Shoots, a global youth program that operates in more than 60 countries. The program teaches children about connections between people, animals and the environment, and ways to engage locally to help all three.

Along with Goodall’s warmth, friendship and wonderful stories, I treasure this comment from her: “The greatest danger to our future is our apathy. Each one of us must take responsibility for our own lives, and above all, show respect and love for living things around us, especially each other.”

It’s a radical notion from a one-of-a-kind scientist.

This article has been updated to add the date of Goodall’s death.

Mireya Mayor, Director of Exploration and Science Communication, Florida International University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

4 Things Parents and Youth Athletes Should Know About Concussions

Despite the attention drawn to the topic of concussions over the past decade, it can be difficult to find readily available answers about what parents and young athletes should do after sustaining a concussion.

The Katsuyama family started 2023 without a single concussion, even with quite a few hockey and lacrosse seasons under its belt. That changed when Rylan, 11, received two concussions within five months from sports. One week after Rylan’s second concussion, his brother, Brandon, 13, was illegally checked from behind in a hockey game and sustained his first concussion. After clearing protocol in four weeks, he suffered a second concussion six weeks later.

Both boys endured months of headaches, missed school, dizziness, nausea and the added difficulty of navigating a significant injury peers and adults couldn’t see.

Their father, Brad Katsuyama, co-founder of IEX – a disruptive stock exchange featured in the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt” – sought out expert opinions to guide his family’s decisions and shares some acquired knowledge to help parents and athletes.

1.      Brain injuries should be diagnosed by a concussion specialist.
There is no X-ray, MRI or CT scan that can show the extent of most concussion-related injuries, which makes diagnosing them subjective. Symptoms can also appear days after a hit. For example, Brandon was cleared by the emergency room after his first concussion, but two days later failed every test administered by a doctor specializing in concussions.

2.     Rushing back to play is one of the worst mistakes you can make.
Experts consistently reinforced that coming back from a concussion too soon can significantly increase long-term brain injury risks. There is likely no tournament, playoff game or tryout worth this risk. An example of how to return smartly is Patrice Bergeron of the National Hockey League’s Boston Bruins, who sat out an entire year to properly heal from a concussion.

“Patrice had four more concussions over his career, and each one was less severe than the last,” renowned concussion specialist Dr. Robert Cantu said. “That wouldn’t have happened without recovery from the first one.”

3.       Parents and kids need to be honest about symptoms.
The culture in youth sports praises toughness. Getting your “bell rung” and continuing to play can be viewed as a badge of honor. However, this same mentality can cause athletes to lie to parents, trainers and coaches to get back in the game, which can greatly increase long-term risks. Conversely, the same adults can unduly influence a potentially vulnerable player back on to the field of play. Proper diagnosis requires both adults and athletes to be level-headed and honest in their assessment of concussions.

4.    Every person and every concussion is different.
One person’s history and experience with concussions seldom carries any relevance to the concussions experienced by another. For example, Katsuyama played varsity football, hockey and rugby for four years in high school and football in college.

“For the longest time, my definition of a ‘real’ concussion was blacking out, vomiting or pupils dilating,” Katsuyama said. “My sons had none of those symptoms after their hits, but it turns out the severity of their injuries were far greater than anything I had experienced.”

The Katsuyamas turned to the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the Cantu Concussion Center, in addition to their local concussion specialist, to advise their path forward, which has led them to racquet sports and golf in the near-term and long-term playing no more than one contact sport in a school year. Learn more at concussionfoundation.org.

 

SOURCE:

Brad Katsuyama

Are high school sports living up to their ideals?

Most coaches want to be able to do more than teach their athletes to win faceoffs and dodge defenders. Hannah Foslien/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Jedediah Blanton, University of Tennessee and Scott Pierce, Illinois State University

Coach Smith was an easy hire as the head coach of a new high school lacrosse team in Tennesseee: She had two decades of coaching experience and a doctorate in sport and exercise science.

After signing the paperwork, which guaranteed a stipend of US$1,200, Smith – we’re using a pseudonym to protect her identity – had four days to complete a background check, CPR and concussion training and a Fundamentals of Coaching online course. After spending $300 to check all these boxes, the job was hers.

The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association’s mission statement highlights how high school athletes should be molded into good citizens and have their educational experiences enhanced by playing sports.

Yet Coach Smith hadn’t received any guidance on how to accomplish these goals. She didn’t know how a high school coach would be evaluated – surely it went beyond wins, losses and knowing CPR – or how to make her players better students and citizens.

Over the past 15 years, our work has focused on maximizing the benefits of high school sports and recognizing what limits those benefits from being reached. We want to know what high school sports aspire to be and what actually happens on the ground.

We have learned that Coach Smith is not alone; this is a common story playing out on high school fields and courts across the country. Good coaching candidates are getting hired and doing their best to keep high school sports fixtures in their communities. But coaches often feel like they’re missing something, and they wonder whether they’re living up to those aspirations.

Does the mission match reality?

Dating back to the inception of school-sponsored sport leagues in 1903, parents and educators have long believed that interscholastic sports are a place where students develop character and leadership skills.

Research generally backs up the advantages of playing sports. In 2019, high school sports scholar Stéphanie Turgeon published a review paper highlighting the benefits and drawbacks of playing school sports. She found that student-athletes were less likely to drop out, more likely to be better at emotional regulation and more likely to contribute to their communities. While athletes reported more stress and were more likely to drink alcohol, Turgeon concluded that the positives outweighed the negatives.

The governing body of high school sports in the U.S., the National Federation of State High School Associations, oversees 8 million students. According to its mission statement, the organization seeks to establish “playing rules that emphasize health and safety,” create “educational programs that develop leaders” and provide “administrative support to increase opportunities and promote sportsmanship.”

Digging deeper into the goals of sports governing bodies, we recently conducted a study that reviewed and analyzed the mission statements of all 51 of the member state associations that officially sponsor high school sports and activities.

In their missions, most associations described the services they provided – supervising competition, creating uniform rules of play and offering professional development opportunities for coaches and administrators. A majority aimed to instill athletes with life skills such as leadership, sportsmanship and wellness. Most also emphasized the relationship between sports and education, either suggesting that athletics should support or operate alongside schools’ academic goals or directly create educational opportunities for athletes on the playing field. And a handful explicitly aspired to protect student-athletes from abuse and exploitation.

Interestingly, seven state associations mentioned that sports participation is a privilege, with three adding the line “and not a right.” This seems to conflict with the National Federation of State High School Associations, which has said that it wants to reach as many students as possible. The organization sees high school sports as a place where kids can further their education, which is a right in the U.S. This is important, particularly as youth sports have developed into a multibillion-dollar industry fueled by expensive travel leagues and club teams.

We also noticed what was largely missing from these mission statements. Only two state athletic associations included a goal for students to “have fun” playing sports. Research dating back to the 1970s has consistently shown that wanting to have fun is usually the No. 1 reason kids sign up for sports in the first place.

Giving coaches the tools to succeed

Missions statements are supposed to guide organizations and outline their goals. For high school sports, the opportunity exists to more clearly align educational initiatives and evaluation efforts to fulfill their missions.

If high school sports are really meant to build leadership and life skills, you would think that the adults running these programs would be eager to acquire the skill set to do this. Sure enough, when we surveyed high school coaches across the country in 2019, we found that 90% reported that formal leadership training programs were a good idea. Yet less than 12% had actually participated in those programs.

Few high school coaches are required to complete leadership training. Andy Cross/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

A recent study led by physical education scholar Obidiah Atkinson highlighted this disconnect. While most states require training for coaches, the depth and amount of instruction varied significantly, with little emphasis on social–emotional health and youth development. In another study we conducted, we spoke with administrators. They admitted that coaches rarely receive training to effectively teach the leadership and life skills that high school sports promise to deliver.

This type of training is available; we helped the National Federation of State High School Associations create three free courses explicitly focused on developing student leadership. Thousands of students and coaches have completed these courses, with students reporting that the courses have helped them develop leadership as a life skill. And it’s exciting to see that the organization offers over 60 courses reaching millions of learners on topics ranging from Heat Illness Prevention and Sudden Cardiac Arrest, to Coaching Mental Wellness and Engaging Effectively with Parents.

Yet, our research findings suggest that if these aspirational missions are to be taken seriously, it’s important to really measure what matters.

Educational programs can be evaluated to determine whether and how they are helping coaches and students, and coaches ought to be evaluated and retained based on their ability to help athletes learn how to do more than kick a soccer ball or throw a strike. Our findings highlight the opportunity for high school athletic associations and researchers to work together to better understand how this training is helping coaches to meet the promises of high school sports.

Taking these steps will help to make sure coaches like Coach Smith have the tools, support and feedback they need to succeed.

Jedediah Blanton, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Studies, University of Tennessee and Scott Pierce, Professor of Kinesiology and Recreation, Illinois State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.

Stop Texting and Emailing and Try Talking for a Change

by Daniel B. Griffith, J.D., SPHR, SHRM-SCP

As a workplace mediator, I am astounded by the many times I've helped employees work through their conflicts simply by having them reassess their methods of communicating. Conflict often escalates because individuals rely on technology -- texts and emails -- to communicate rather than honestly talk face to face. For example:

• A department chair and office manager rarely meet in person. The chair exercises his faculty privilege to work from home and the manager feels blamed for not addressing student and faculty needs, mostly because she can't get clarity through email from the chair about how to respond.
• Initial emails in a long email stream between two faculty are seemingly innocuous but escalate over many weeks to barbed comments, sarcasm, innuendo, accusations, half-truths, and SHOUTING. They have never spoken directly with one another about their concerns.
• Two students pull out their phones and trace the series of text exchanges between them, quickly realizing their frequent use of abbreviations, emojis, and curt replies, and overlooked texts within the stream led to significant misunderstandings and unfounded judgments and assumptions each made of the other.

My job as mediator is to help individuals unpack the causes of their conflict and see for themselves where their differences lie, but it is tempting in cases like these simply to say, "stop it!" The answer seems obvious but is evidently more difficult for many who have come to rely on their devices to communicate to the point they avoid, fear, or forget to communicate in person or have lost or never developed the skills for doing so.

If this is you, or fear it may be, consider these suggestions for evaluating your technology use and extricating yourself from the confusion to improve your relationships and conflict resolution skills:

Get clear on your reasons for relying on e-communication when dealing with conflict. Conflict resolution starts with identifying root causes. With respect to technology misuse, causes for users' misdeeds and misunderstandings that foment conflict include:

• Cowardice. Hiding behind the keypad to send out missives, barbs, strident comments, and other conflict-enhancing messages due to a lack of courage, fortitude, or integrity to face others in person.
• Fear. Avoiding face-to-face interaction due to either genuine or unfounded fear of confrontation, thereby finding safety in perpetuating the conflict behind the keypad.
• Laziness or busyness. While we know we could talk over the cubicle or knock on a colleague's door (or do so virtually through a video meeting), we don't do so, either from inertia or by blaming our busy schedule. It is simply easier to stay behind the keypad.
• Ignorance. Some individuals lack awareness of how their written exchange may come across as curt, dismissive, unclear, or harsh. Others may simply not know, or were never taught, that in-person exchange is the best option for addressing conflicts and more serious conversations.
• Lack of skills. Some may recognize the need for face-to-face interaction but feel awkward, tongue-tied, and unskilled, feeling more comfortable behind the keypad. They will continue in this mode if they lack the means to develop skills or to ask for help.
• Norms. When e-communication is the default within your organization, or among your community, age group, or friends, the thought of a different means for more important conversation never crosses your mind.

Change your mindset and manner of communicating. As conflict escalates, we experience diminishing returns in our ability to meaningfully communicate and resolve issues with colleagues. As this occurs and you get an inkling that your electronic foibles may be a contributing cause, it's time to wake up to the need for a different approach to your communication exchange.

These inklings may arise, among other means, if you sense your common use of abbreviations and emojis are being misinterpreted or causing offense, your written explanations become lengthier in response to a colleague's baseless accusations, you've lost track of the stream and wonder where the misunderstanding first arose, or you discontinue communication altogether -- electronic or otherwise -- because it has become exhausting and demoralizing to attempt further communication.

The first response to this dilemma is simple (physically, if not emotionally): take your fingers off the keypad. The next step is perhaps more challenging, particularly if you are accustomed to hiding behind the keypad: find a way to initiate face-to-face communication to address your conflict. This probably means walking down the hall to talk with your colleague (or to do the virtual equivalent by requesting a video meeting).

If this is too difficult to initiate cold, or your colleague is as or more skilled as you in hiding behind electronic walls, begin with a polite email, such as, "I think it would be best at this point to talk this through than to continue through email. Could we meet soon?" If your colleague continues to attempt electronic "conversation," you may need to be more direct: "I've requested previously that we meet to discuss this. I will not continue to respond to this concern through email. Would Tuesday at 3:00 or Wednesday at 9:00 be a better time to meet?"

The point is to back away from e-communication, minimize or discontinue e-responses until you can meet in person, and transition discussion on issues causing conflict to in-person exchange.

Don't get pulled into others' misuse of technology. Truly recalcitrant colleagues relying on electronic forms may disregard your message and continue their methods. In any conflict, someone must be the first to break the cycle. Don't give in and return to your old ways simply because the other person hasn't responded as requested. To the extent business must continue through electronic means, keep it to business, provide information only as pertinent to move forward with business decisions, and remind the person of your standing request to meet in person on the matter of concern.

While your awkward radio silence may further jeopardize your relationship momentarily, leave an information void, and generate further misunderstandings and frustration (perhaps even escalating the other person's e-responses), realize the cost in time, energy, and loss of goodwill to continue or return to an unhealthy cycle, tempting as it may be to respond in kind.

Establish clear expectations about how you will communicate and the methods you will use. Whether correcting a dysfunctional relationship precipitated by poor e-communication or establishing a new relationship to avoid such problems, establish an understanding of how you will address the natural miscommunications and conflicts that arise and how e- vs. in-person communication will play a role. Consider informal norms or grounds rules covering situations where e-communication is appropriate and when transition to in-person is needed. Hint: e-communication for general business and information exchange; in-person when a deeper conversation is needed, or when matters initiated through e-communication require transition to in-person to ensure clarity. So armed, you now have a basis for disrupting e-communication to transition to in-person without surprising your colleague and begin a fluid, productive process for addressing concerns through face-to-face interaction.

This article is republished from HigherEdJobs^® under a Creative Commons license. 

How to be Emotionally Present at Work When You Have Real Stuff Going on at Home

by Eileen Hoenigman Meyer

PeopleImages.com - Yuri A/Shutterstock

We all go through hard times. Whether it's managing an illness, supporting a sick family member, going through a divorce, aiding a struggling child, or dealing with a job loss in the family, weathering a crisis is an emotional and logistical undertaking.

Most of us have to work during these difficult stretches, which means we can't navigate them as privately or as independently as we'd like. While this can be challenging, there are benefits to managing stressful times in the comfort of our professional communities. Existing in a known space driven by a familiar routine and populated with supporters can be helpful when we're struggling.

It's important, though, to proceed with a plan. Developing a self-care strategy and remaining realistic about how much you're asking of yourself are key to staying emotionally grounded and present when you're working through a challenging time. Here's what to consider as you get started.

Lean Into Your Routine

According to Assistant Professor Nadia Ibrahim-Taney, being emotionally present in the workplace means "how one is connected to themselves, their work, and the people they do work with." Your daily routine fortifies this interconnectedness by providing a nourishing, familiar framework that you've carefully crafted over time.

Recognizing the familiarity of our professional rituals and relationships reminds us that one part of life continues to make sense, even during a crisis.

"Work is a constant in most people's lives so in difficult times, which can often coincide with chaos or change, having elements of daily life remaining constant and predictable can be reassuring and helps center us," explained Ibrahim-Taney.

While your workplace can offer a sense of reprieve from the stress of the situation at home, there is also pressure, expectation, and stress at work. It's a lot to manage, and you may be operating differently while carrying this additional weight. You may find that your patience, resilience, and attention is impacted. This is normal and understandable.

Recognize your new limitations. Don't apologize for them. Make a plan, and reach out for the help.

Get Clarity Around What You Need

Talk to someone outside of your situation who can help you see and sort your feelings. Use the wellness resources on campus. Meet with your mentor. Talk with a therapist. Consider doing these things before you discuss what you're weathering with anyone who is directly involved in your work.

Having a sense of what you need before you bring any team members into your situation puts you in control. While it can feel overwhelming to manage a difficult situation, it's helpful to be the one driving this.

As you work through it, outline what you need: Will you need to work remotely more often? Will additional support with certain projects help? Is a leave of absence possible?

Make a list. Review your employee handbook. See what your institution offers. Think through who you feel most comfortable coming to as you access your needs. Are you ready to talk with your manager or would it feel better to start with your human resources partner?

Even though your feelings run deep about what you're going through, try to think about the management of this like any workplace project. Plan it in stages with the colleagues with whom you work best.

Identify Your Support System

"Sometimes when it rains, it pours, right?" said Ibrahim-Taney. "It can often feel like that with work as well. If things are hard at home in your personal life and hard at work and it is tough all around- that's when you need to lean into your people."

It's important to be strategic about who you invite into your support network, especially at the start.

Share your news strategically rather than spilling it to try to get some comfort when you feel emotionally vulnerable.

"Consider who are the people at home and at work who can support you?" Ibrahim-Taney recommended. "What kind of support can they offer and how does that align with the support you need?"

Identify particular people for specific jobs. For example, some colleagues may be especially helpful when you're feeling vulnerable. Others may be resourceful assisting with logistics.

Keep in mind that you don't have to share what you're going through with everyone, and you don't have to discuss anything more than is comfortable for you. Make defining and maintaining your own boundaries a key part of your self-care plan.

Create Your Narrative

Sometimes, you don't have the opportunity to decide what to share or not. If a family member passes away, if you are returning from a medical leave, or if you encounter another obstacle that is known around campus, you may find yourself in the difficult spot of managing both the crisis and the communication around it.

This can be especially hard. Colleagues with the best intentions can be hurtfully clumsy in their efforts to soothe or they can ask questions that are beyond what you want to discuss at work.

It's helpful to develop a narrative, an elevator pitch, for what you're weathering. You get to decide how to shape, share, and discuss this news. You don't owe anyone information about your health or circumstances. Decide how you want to talk about it and stick to that script.

Doing this initial work can help you get some clarity around your feelings, and it puts you in charge.

"A sense of control is perception, if you feel out of control, change your perception of what you can control and be in control of yourself," Ibrahim-Taney advised.

Protect Yourself

Don't push yourself too hard. It's okay to move slowly. It's okay to need breaks. You may sometimes have to shut down for the day to take care of yourself. You don't have to be anyone's hero or inspire anyone with your strength. You just have to get through this.

Some years, we grow and thrive while other years we just survive. Both shape our character.

Recognize what you're managing. Accept it, and care for yourself accordingly. Give yourself the space, resources, and support you need to get through this. Adapt your thinking and allow yourself to be a person in pain.

Needing support is humbling and hard, but it seeds an awareness that forges deep connections among other benefits. Suffering is not the path to reinvention that most of us would choose, but it aids our reinvention nonetheless.

Disclaimer: HigherEdJobs encourages free discourse and expression of issues while striving for accurate presentation to our audience. A guest opinion serves as an avenue to address and explore important topics, for authors to impart their expertise to our higher education audience and to challenge readers to consider points of view that could be outside of their comfort zone. The viewpoints, beliefs, or opinions expressed in the above piece are those of the author(s) and don't imply endorsement by HigherEdJobs.

This article is republished from HigherEdJobs^® under a Creative Commons license. 

4 Trends Showing Mental Health is a Continued Challenge for Americans

People with outward appearances of success, productivity and happiness often still deal with internal struggles. Mental health challenges continue to affect Americans, with nearly 3 of 4 (73%) U.S. adults reporting struggles with mental health in 2023.

These findings come from a mental health survey commissioned by RedBox Rx, a telehealth and online pharmacy provider, and conducted by Morning Consult.

“Mental health remains a struggle for many Americans,” said Dr. Daniel Fick, RedBox Rx’s chief medical officer. “The findings from this study demonstrate more resources and support are needed to help individuals manage their mental health, especially younger adults. We are focused on fulfilling this need by offering easy-to-access, affordable, discreet and convenient telehealth care and treatment for those struggling with mental health.”

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, consider these mental health trends identified in the survey:

1. Younger Generations are More Likely to Report Mental Health Struggles, Worsening Mental Health
Gen Zers and Millennials are more likely to report having mental health struggles and more likely to say those struggles worsened in the past year. In fact, 41% of Gen Zers and 36% of Millennials reported more mental health struggles in the past year compared with 21% of adults ages 45 and older.

2. Specific Life Events Affect People Differently
Some life events appear to affect people differently. For example, getting divorced or separated and becoming pregnant or having a child are linked with both worsening and improving mental health. Getting engaged or married and using a dating app are equally likely to be linked with both positive and negative impacts on mental health.

3. Younger Generations Endure Life Events Linked with Worsening Mental Health
Gen Zers and Millennials more frequently experience life events having the strongest links to worsening mental health. They more commonly report loneliness and a failure to achieve life goals, stressors also linked to worsening mental health. For example, 53% of Gen Zers reported feelings of loneliness and 52% shared feelings of failure to achieve life goals, compared with 39% and 34%, respectively, of all adults sampled.

The research also found recent life experiences, whether relational or personal, are linked to the state of one’s mental health. Those suffering from worsening mental health were more likely to have experienced:

• Being a victim of verbal or emotional abuse
• Being a victim of physical violence
• The lack of a healthy home environment
• The lack of a healthy work environment
• Attending college or university
• The breakdown in a relationship with a close family member

According to the study, if you’ve experienced verbal or emotional abuse – which is 12% more prevalent among Gen Zers – you are more than twice as likely to report worsening mental health.

4. Despite Mental Health Struggles, Most Americans Aren’t Seeking Professional Care
Even though mental health struggles are widespread among American adults, more than 6 out of 10 (63%) with consistent or worsening mental health struggles have not sought professional care, such as therapy or medications, in the past year.

Those not seeking care tend to downplay their situations or cite the cost of care as a barrier. Through its discreet, low-cost service model, RedBox Rx’s online platform makes it easy for patients to quickly schedule telehealth visits and privately meet with licensed medical providers to get help with treating a variety of mental health conditions including anxiety and depression, adult ADHD and insomnia.

“Telehealth offers an effective and convenient way for patients to easily access care for mental health conditions,” Fick said.

To view the full report, access infographics from the study and find more information about mental health therapy and medical treatments, visit RedBoxRx.com. 

SOURCE:
RedBox Rx

The Power of Pets

Love. Community. Belonging. Pets offer people the chance to explore friendships and connections they didn’t always think were possible.

Pets provide companionship and help bring people together. In fact, according to Mars’ “Pets Connect Us” report 73% of pet parents have made connections despite generational, cultural or ethnic differences because of their four-legged pals.

Learn more about the report, which leveraged consumer insights to shed light on the future of pet parenthood in the U.S. and Canada, at BetterCitiesForPets.com/2023report.

SOURCE:
Mars Petcare 

   

Combatting Cracked Concrete: Causes of failing concrete and how to solve them

Concrete is a strong, durable and easy-to-maintain material that is popular for driveways, walkways, patios and more. Like most materials, though, it can inevitably wear down over time.

When signs of failure show themselves, homeowners commonly face two options: repair or replace. Prepare and plan for eventual concrete deterioration with this advice from the experts at Thrasher Foundation Repair, which has served more than 150,000 families over the last 50 years.

Reasons for Concrete Failure
Natural elements like weather, water and earth are often to blame, but man-made mistakes can also contribute to concrete failure.

1. Poorly compacted soil: When a home is constructed, a lot of soil is moved around and put back in place. This often results in loose, poorly compacted soil, which allows water to seep in, saturate and dry out. The constant expansion and contraction can create voids beneath the concrete, which it eventually sinks into.
2. Weather: During hot weather, concrete expands and causes pressure throughout the slab, often resulting in cracks. Conversely, during cold weather, the moisture in the ground freezes and can cause the slab to shrink, causing concrete to lift, heave and crack.
3. Excessive weight: Concrete is strong but not indestructible. Excessively heavy objects, like snow, can cause cracking.
4. Shrinkage: When concrete is installed, water is used to facilitate mixing and pouring. As concrete cures, excess water evaporates and causes a reduction in concrete volume, sometimes leading to cracking.

Defects: Improper installation or a poorly prepared concrete mix may lead to a weak slab that’s prone to cracking.

Signs of Concrete Failure
Identifying failure can help you address issues before they get out of hand. One of the most common signs is cracking – while a few hairline cracks that aren’t actively growing aren’t typically a problem, larger cracks that spread can affect drainage, aesthetics and structural integrity.

If you notice water collecting in areas following heavy rain, that may indicate a soil issue that can lead to concrete failure. Pitting, flaking and staining are also signs of damaged concrete. Uneven surfaces or sinking concrete are serious signs that concrete slabs are struggling with external factors that need to be addressed.

Options for Addressing Concrete Failure
When homeowners notice signs of failure in their driveways, sidewalks or patios, they often assume replacement is the only option. However, concrete repair can revitalize slabs without a full replacement, typically at a lower price.

Repair: New technology makes repairing concrete less invasive, more affordable and quicker than total replacement. Consider Thrasher Foundation Repair’s PolyLevel process, which refers to a system using a two-part polyurethane polymer to fill voids and lift concrete slabs to their original position. It’s injected through a pencil eraser-sized hole and expands into a structural foam that compacts the soil. Quick, noninvasive and aesthetically pleasing, it’s a fast installation process with a curing time of 15-20 minutes so the surface can be used the same day. This repair process is recommended for cracks, settled and unlevel slabs or sunken steps.

“Repairing concrete, rather than full replacement, can save homeowners as much as 50-80%, depending on square footage,” said Dan Thrasher, CEO of Thrasher Foundation Repair. “It’s often a more economical solution that provides peace of mind, visual appeal and long-lasting results.”

Staining: After a repair, slabs may appear mismatched. Staining concrete adds visual appeal while helping to prevent pitting, flaking, cracking and moisture-related issues.

Replacement: As a long, disruptive and inconvenient process, full slab replacement can be overwhelming, both in terms of time and money. Some situations do call for full slab replacement, however, such as concrete older than 30 years, deep cracks and large potholes or a poorly installed base.

When choosing the right way to address concrete failure, it’s important to consider your time and budget. When in doubt, contact a professional who can walk you through the process by visiting GoThrasher.com.

SOURCE:

Thrasher Foundation Repair

What 100% Grass-Fed Organic Dairy Brings to Your Table

It’s no secret that many grocery store dairy sections are filled with more options today. One choice continuing to gain favor with consumers is 100% grass-fed organic dairy. Nutrition, environmental awareness and animal care are some of the leading reasons consumers choose grass-fed dairy products.

Globally, the 100% grass-fed dairy market is projected to continue growing and some market experts predict annual growth rates as high as 22%. If you’re curious about 100% grass-fed organic dairy, consider these benefits from Maple Hill, America’s original 100% grass-fed organic dairy producer. The pioneer of 100% grass-fed organic dairy took its commitment a step further by celebrating and declaring National 100% Grass-Fed Organic Dairy Day on April 15, which recognizes the positive impact it has on consumers, cows, farmers and the environment.

1. Honoring the Farmers
Unlike large-scale corporate dairy farms, most organic farms are small, family-owned operations dedicated to traditional, sustainable farming. Small dairy farms have been disappearing, but 100% grass-fed organic dairy creates a sustainable, viable path forward for farmers who work in harmony with nature. 

This more natural approach to dairy is a “craft” process favoring small family farmers who are willing to dedicate the extra focus and patience to a better product and process. These family farms are passed on to future generations to grow the “better for you, better for the planet” approach.

2. Commitment to Good Health
Most consumers don’t know the difference between traditional organic and 100% grass-fed organic dairy. One key distinction is the products’ nutritional composition; 100% grass-fed organic dairy provides a 50% healthier ratio of omega 3:6 and 40% higher levels of CLA fatty acids, which may support heart health and provide other health benefits.

What’s more, Maple Hill’s products made with 100% grass-fed organic dairy are GMO free, hormone free and antibiotic free with no additives or fillers. The line of high-quality, rich-flavored products let you experience the organic difference from traditional dairy for a nutrient-dense solution that tastes as nature intended.

3. Happy, Healthy Cows
Cows on a 100% grass-fed diet can live up to three times as long as grain-fed cows and are never subjected to unnatural diets, hormones or antibiotics. More time in pastures filled with lush grass means cows have the freedom to roam, ruminate and graze on diverse, nutrient-rich grasses.

The result is happier, healthier cows, which in turn results in a richer, better-tasting and more nutrient-dense milk.

4. Sustainability and the Environment
Producing milk without grain or corn requires farmers to focus on regenerating soil and the soil life that supports everything else on the farm. In fact, the healthier the soil, the healthier the feed, so farmers have a natural incentive to be as regenerative as possible. Regenerative grazing practices are a powerful and positive tool to improve land and the web of life on farms by actively restoring soil health, promoting biodiversity and reducing the environmental impact compared to conventional dairy.

Well-managed grazing helps pull carbon from the atmosphere into the soil, fighting climate change in the process. In addition, healthier soil retains more water, reducing runoff and protecting water sources from agricultural pollution.

5. Strengthening the 100% Grass-Fed Organic Market
Consumers are increasingly aware of the choices they have in dairy products and how 100% grass-fed organic supports their health, farmers, animals and the planet. Some ways to support this category’s continued growth include choosing certified 100% grass-fed organic dairy, advocating for regenerative farming and helping shape a more sustainable food system.

Learn more about 100% grass-fed organic dairy products at maplehill.com.

SOURCE:

Maple Hill

Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests

Vivek Astvansh, McGill University

Hoping to win over customers, businesses from Amazon to Zoom have taken to touting their good deeds in corporate social responsibility reports.

CSR reports let companies spotlight what they’ve done for workers, consumers, communities and the environment – essentially all their goals beyond simply making a profit. Research shows that CSR statements are linked to rising sales.

As a marketing professor, I thought that raised an interesting question: When companies find success with CSR disclosures, are they bringing in new customers – or are their extra sales coming from their existing base alone?

In a recent study of several hundred Chinese companies, a colleague and I put the question to the test. We found that a CSR disclosure lowers a business’s dependence on current customers by 2.1%.

That’s welcome news for businesses. It means those additional sales are coming from new customers, who are indeed impressed by the company’s CSR efforts.

But the findings weren’t all positive.

To sell more products, companies generally need to buy more supplies. So a logical follow-up question is: Does a company’s CSR disclosure lead it to source purchases from new suppliers?

In fact, we found the opposite. Companies that released CSR disclosures seemed to scare away new suppliers. This is probably because suppliers often bear the costs when a company chooses to prioritize social responsibility.

Becoming dependent on suppliers comes at a cost to businesses. When suppliers know a company depends on them, they tend to demand payment in cash rather than credit. That can hurt a company, because it now has less cash for investments.

So while CSR reports impress customers, they appear to antagonize suppliers – and that comes at a price.

Why it matters

Prior research has shown that CSR disclosures can boost sales, but it’s long been unclear whether these additional sales are sourced from old customers or newly acquired ones. Our work brings clarity that businesses can use in making decisions.

The findings are also of interest to lawmakers, regulators and corporate responsibility advocates who are debating making CSR reports mandatory.

The U.S. doesn’t require businesses to release CSR reports, but some countries do. One is China, which in 2008 mandated that all public companies submit annual CSR reports starting in 2009. This created the conditions for the nearly natural experiment we conducted.

Interestingly, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly considered making some form of corporate social responsibility reporting mandatory. In the absence of requirements, many American corporations will continue to voluntarily report their CSR.

In other words, the need for empirical evidence on the cost and benefits of CSR disclosure is greater than ever.

What’s next

The increasing incidence of extreme weather events and weather-related fatalities and injuries has piqued my interest in environmental responsibility. I have two ongoing research projects.

First, I’m using a company’s public disclosures to measure its environmental risks and the activities it has undertaken to mitigate them. Second, I am researching how CEO incentives shape a company’s environmental disclosure, activities and spending – or the lack thereof.

The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.

Vivek Astvansh, Associate Professor of Quantitative Marketing and Analytics, McGill University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

The Ultimate Guide to Game Day Hosting: 6 tips to host a game day gathering like a pro

From kickoff to the final whistle, game day is all about spending time with friends and family while rooting for your favorite team. When it’s your turn to host, you can bring all the fun of a tailgate party to the comfort of your couch with the proper plan for hosting.

Show Your Team Spirit
Make your guests feel excited from the moment they walk through the door – or as soon as they pull in the driveway – by decking out your space in team colors and memorabilia. Use football- or team-themed banners, flags, balloons, coasters and tablecloths to set the mood.

Wear your favorite jersey and create a stadium-like atmosphere with fun props like foam fingers or pom-poms for guests to use and cheer on their team.

Prep Ahead of Time to Score Big
Avoid a rush before kickoff by making a checklist of everything you’ll need. Ensure your TV and sound systems are working correctly and that you have access to the right channel or streaming platform.

Make a store run at least a day in advance to grab everything you’ll need for your watch party: dishes, snacks, drinks, tablecloths, trash bags and some household essentials like Finish Ultimate Dishwasher Detergent. Finish Ultimate tackles dish cleanup in the kitchen like a pro, so hosts can enjoy all the fun parts of game day without the worry.

If possible, pack your coolers the night before – just as you would for tailgating at the stadium – and prep and cook any dishes you can ahead of time, so you can enjoy the action with minimal interruptions.

Feed the Fans
Football fans are often foodies, too. A buffet-style food setup allows guests to help themselves to their favorite snacks and dishes throughout all four quarters.

Review your game plan ahead of kickoff to make sure your game day menu offers a variety of finger foods, such as wings, sliders and nachos. Then, take your menu to the next level with unique eats like this new saucy, cheesy creation – the TRUFF Hot Honey Bacon Cheddar Dip with Pretzel Bites – to add a spicy twist.

To complete the roster of game day eats, include a veggie tray or charcuterie board and a variety of beverages, including water, soda and juice. To stay on theme, consider serving cake or brownies in the shape of a football for dessert or topping cupcakes with icing in the team’s colors.

Tackle Cleanup
All those delicious snacks your guests are enjoying are sure to make a mess. For hosts tackling cleanup during the game, don’t miss out on all the on-screen action–turn to the star player to make cleanup a breeze: Finish Ultimate Dishwasher Detergent.

Finish Ultimate tackles tough game day messes, even without pre-rinsing, leaving hosts more time to cheer on their team and less time in the kitchen cleaning up.

Create the Perfect Viewing Environment
Ensure everyone has an unobstructed view by arranging your seating strategically. Use a combination of couches, chairs and floor cushions to accommodate your guests. Scatter small tables throughout the area within easy reach for guests to place their drinks and snacks while the action is live.

To ensure fans never miss a moment of the action, turn the TVs in other rooms to the game as well; just ensure the sound is down in case the main screen is ahead or behind of the secondary viewing options.

Consider Downtime Entertainment to Keep the Energy High
While the main event is watching the action, you can keep the excitement going during halftime and commercial breaks with fun activities like cornhole, football trivia, bingo, mascot matching or an old-fashioned game of catch. Also have some board games, card games or video games on hand for those who might want to take a break from watching or children who aren’t as engaged in the on-screen action.

For the ultimate game day recipe and to find more ways to tackle dish cleanup in the kitchen on game day, visit finishdishwashing.com/truff-hot-honey-bacon-cheddar-dip.

Hot Honey Bacon Cheddar Dip with Pretzel Bites

Recipe courtesy of Finish
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Servings: 12

• 5          slices bacon
• 1/2       cup honey
• 2          tablespoons TRUFF Original Hot Sauce
• 16        ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2/3       cup lager-style beer
• 1/4       cup Dijon mustard
• 24        ounces cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2       cup fresh scallions, chopped
• 1          teaspoon garlic powder
• 1          teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2       teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 24        ounces frozen pretzel bites, baked according to package instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Evenly space bacon in 13-by-9-inch dishwasher-safe ceramic or glass baking dish.
3. Bake bacon 10 minutes.
4. Microwave honey 15-20 seconds. Add hot sauce and whisk to combine.
5. Remove bacon from oven and carefully pat dry with paper towels.
6. Brush bacon with hot honey and return to oven. Set aside any remaining hot honey for later use.
7. Bake bacon 10-15 minutes until brown and crisp. Set bacon aside to cool.
8. Chop bacon into small, bite-sized pieces.
9. Pour bacon pan drippings into bowl and discard once cool.
10. In bowl, whisk softened cream cheese, beer and mustard to combine.
11. Add grated cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper. Stir until thoroughly combined.
12. Spread mixture evenly in 13-by-9-inch dishwasher-safe ceramic or glass baking dish.
13. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
14. Remove from oven and rest 5 minutes.
15. Sprinkle top of dip with chopped bacon and drizzle with remaining hot honey.
16. Serve dip alongside baked pretzel bites.

SOURCE:
Finish

Transform the daily grind to make life more interesting – a philosopher shares 3 strategies to help you attain the good life

Approaching your regular day with a new mindset can send you in an interesting direction. d3sign/Moment via Getty Images

Lorraine Besser, Middlebury

Imagine it’s Monday morning, too cold and too dark, but once that alarm goes off, you know you’ve got to rally. The kids have to get to school. You’ve got to get to work. And, of course, your ever-growing to-do list hangs over your head like a dark cloud, somehow both too threatening to ignore and too threatening to start its tasks.

On days like this, you may be grateful simply to make it through. But then it begins, all over again.

While you can’t escape the grind, you can transform it. The latest psychological research on the good life points the way: By shifting your mindset, you can make your day-to-day more interesting and create psychological richness within your life. Psychological richness describes a robust form of cognitive engagement. It’s distinct from happiness and meaning, but just as important to the good life.

In collaboration with Shigehiro Oishi and his research lab, I’ve investigated whether the field of positive psychology has largely overlooked an important dimension of the good life. As the philosopher on our team, I had two directives. First, I helped to define the concept of psychological richness and understand what distinguishes it from happiness and meaning. Second, I set out to explore why psychological richness is valuable.

Our initial studies found that people value experiences that stimulate their minds, challenge them and generate a range of emotions. Many would choose a life full of these experiences, which we describe as psychologically rich, over a happy life or a meaningful life.

This insight points to the important role psychological richness can play within the good life, but it stops short of explaining why it’s good and why people ought to make space for psychological richness within their lives. These are value-laden questions that can’t be answered through empirical research. Their answers are found instead through philosophical analysis.

My philosophical analysis suggests that psychological richness is good for you because it’s interesting. My book, “The Art of the Interesting: What We Miss in Our Pursuit of the Good Life and How to Cultivate It,” shows how to add psychological richness to your life by making it more interesting.

One of the easiest ways to do this is by embracing a mindset characterized by curiosity, creativity and what I call “mindfulness 2.0.” When you bring these three perspectives to your day-to-day, you transform the grind into endless opportunities to experience the world as interesting. You develop the capacity to enhance your own life.

Mindfulness 2.0: Noticing without judging

What I call “mindfulness 2.0” means bringing nonevaluative awareness to the world around you – paying attention without judging.

Familiar from mindfulness practices, it’s a form of noticing that brings forth details you typically overlook: the texture of a houseplant’s leaves, the faces of the strangers you pass on the sidewalk, the differing heights of the cans on a store shelf. By bringing these details into your awareness, you stimulate your mind, allowing you to engage mentally with your surroundings in an active manner. Noticing things through mindfulness 2.0 is the first step toward having an interesting experience.

A good place to practice mindfulness 2.0 is during your morning commute. Because it’s routine, you probably don’t feel the need to engage much with the details of what you are doing. Instead you’ll find other ways to pass the time, such as listening to the news or your favorite podcast. These activities distract you from the otherwise boring commute by disengaging you from it.

Noticing an intriguing pattern as birds gather overhead can engage your mind as you move through the world. Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images

But you can also get through the commute by engaging with it to make it less boring. Here’s where the power of mindfulness 2.0 kicks in. Through actively noticing things around you – be it the people clustered at the bus stop, or the traffic patterns created by a stoplight, or a flock of birds swooping overhead – you engage your mind and set yourself up to experience the interesting.

Curiosity: Exploring through questions

Curiosity isn’t just for kids. No matter how much you know, there’s always something to be curious about – especially if you’ve learned to notice the details through mindfulness 2.0.

Say you’ve noticed, during your commute, the group of people gathered around the bus stop. Now let your curiosity take off: Was that bus stop always there? How long has that exceptionally weird real estate advertisement been stuck on the seatback? So many people lined up this cold morning. You might wonder if you’d feel a little more connected if you were with them. But then you notice that no one is talking. Do they ride the same bus together, every day, without acknowledging each other?

Through asking questions, you ask your mind to consider something it hadn’t before. You create new thoughts, and if you let your mind keep going, you’ll have an interesting experience, all the while making that same commute. Even better, you’ll have created that interesting experience on your own. You’ve harnessed an ability to enhance your life, an ability that’s completely within your control.

Creativity: Trying something new

While people often think of creativity as a talent, native only to artists or inventors, everyone has the ability to be creative. Creativity is a skill that involves forming new connections with your mind. You’re creative whenever you do something new or different. Whether it is painting a brilliant landscape or wearing a new color combination, developing a new dish or simply tweaking a recipe, it all falls under the umbrella of creativity.

Exploring what your green thumb can coax to flourish is one creative path. Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images

When you are creative, in big or small ways, you generate novelty within your life, and this puts you on the path toward experiencing psychological richness. Novelty all but forces the mind to think and feel in new ways, stimulating that robust form of cognitive engagement that brings the interesting.

Even just a little bit of creativity will bring novelty to your day-to-day routine. Wear something you don’t normally wear. Add a little flair to your handwriting or choose a different colored pen to write with. Change the patterns on your screen saver. Notice the impact these little tweaks have on your day. Little by little, they’ll add up to make your day just a little more interesting.

Everyone’s experience of what’s interesting is unique. There’s no one interesting experience for all of us, because the interesting depends entirely on how our minds engage, react and respond. Through developing mindfulness 2.0, and bringing curiosity and creativity to your experiences, you train your mind to engage, react and respond in ways that will transform any experience into an interesting one.

This is the power a mindset can bring. It’s a capacity to enhance our lives that anyone can develop.

Lorraine Besser, Professor of Philosophy, Middlebury

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. 

Unique, Hands-Free Ways to Soothe Your Baby

(Family Features) Most parents know – or soon will – crying is completely normal for babies. Even once you’ve determined a cause for the cries, finding foolproof ways to soothe baby can be difficult.

While traditional methods of soothing like bassinets and swings are often effective, they typically require parents to always be close by to keep baby calm. Bassinets and swings with innovative, soothing technology can help provide the safest place outside your arms to ensure baby is comforted and secure, allowing busy parents to have peace of mind while managing everyday tasks.

To bring baby from cries to comfort, Graco has introduced the future of innovative soothing with its Soothing Bassinet and Soothing Swing. Using SmartSense technology, they respond to cries with thousands of soothing combinations to help create more peaceful, happy moments for you and your baby.

Find more solutions to help calm and soothe your little ones by exploring the collection at GracoBaby.com.

Soothe Baby Back to Sleep
Bassinets are recommended for newborns until they can roll over or push up (typically around 5 months old). Creating a fully immersive sleep environment, the Graco SmartSense Soothing Bassinet hears baby’s cries and responds by gradually adjusting thousands of soothing combinations to help lull baby back to sleep, including gentle motions, soft vibration, multiple speeds, white noise and calming music. Parents can also directly control the settings or stream songs and sounds via Bluetooth wireless technology. Its sleek aesthetic and woodgrain finish fit seamlessly into home decor while breathable, mesh sides and a firm, flat sleeping surface help create a safe sleep space for baby. Plus, the bassinet offers swaddle compatibility, allowing babies to sleep soundly by adapting to their needs whether swaddled or not.

Rock Your Baby to Comfort
Mimicking the way parents naturally soothe their babies, the Graco SmartSense Soothing Swing offers four unique motions – swing, rock, cradle and glide – as well as combinations of soft vibrations, speeds, white noise and calming sounds to help create more peaceful, happy moments. It boasts technology that hears your baby cry and responds in seconds with calming sound and motion. The swing also features a cozy body support made with organic cotton fabrics, three recline positions and a convertible harness with harness covers to keep your baby comfy and secure while swinging.

 

SOURCE:
Graco