A 2020 research paper titled “Car Seats as Contraception” has once again become the springboard for debates over why so-called “family vehicles” such as minivans and SUVs are unable to accommodate multiple car seats easily.
Social media users argue that it’s just another way that large families are discouraged or even discriminated against. They question why car seat manufacturers are not intentionally designing their products to be more streamlined so three can fit across a bench seat in the back of a high occupancy vehicle, and why car manufacturers are not similarly concerned with making their vehicles big-family friendly.
The <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/731812">paper</a>, which appeared in The University of Chicago Journal of Law &amp; Economics, argues that people are less likely to have more children due to the limitations posed by fitting many car seats into a standardly equipped vehicle.
“Women with two children younger than their state’s [car seat] age mandate have a lower annual birth probability of .73 percentage points,” the paper says. It notes that this trend began in 1977 when car seat laws were passed.
This concept has become a hot topic of conversation on X as parents with big families relate with this particular struggle.
“I’ve been saying this. [T]here is NO reason you shouldn’t be able to easily fit 3 car seats of any brand in any car that has 3 back seats. so many people I know have had to buy a bigger car for a third kid and I don’t think people realize this is actually a serious consideration for everyone thinking of growing their family beyond 2 kids,” one reaction <a href="https://x.com/smalltown_wife/status/1922026703070597141">said</a>.
“I’m a car seat fan — my kids max out weight limits rear facing &amp; in 5 pt harnesses,” one person <a href="https://x.com/OliveSprouts/status/1921767411428020290">shared</a>. “HOWEVER. Carseat design &amp; car design appear to be 2 fields so separate they’ve never even contemplated the existence of the other.”
“If your minivan seats 7 you should be able to fit 5 car seats,” the social media user added.
“I find this 100% believable,” another person <a href="https://x.com/peterjhasson/status/1921692058294628771">wrote</a>. “We have two toddlers. Our third child is on the way. Federal regulations mean that we are *required* to buy a bigger car than our CR-V if we want our family to legally ride together in the same car. I have 0 idea how that’s supposed to work if you’re a working class parent.”
“We just had to buy a bigger vehicle to accommodate #5 which who’ll be here October,” another commenter echoed. “We had a Grand Caravan, and I wasn’t able to fit 4 in properly because of the rear bench seatbelts and anchors. We just did the best we could which meant not using the seats as per the manual.”
The topic went viral once before when a resurfaced clip of Vice President J.D. Vance weighed in on the topic during a 2023 congressional hearing. A clip of his statements was circulated in September 2024 ahead of the election.
&#8220;American families aren&#8217;t having enough children. I think there&#8217;s evidence that some of the things that we&#8217;re doing to parents is driving down the number of children that American families are having,&#8221; Vance said in the <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@whattheactualkaren/video/7416820046808321323">video</a>.
&#8220;In particular, there&#8217;s evidence that the car seat rules that we&#8217;ve imposed, which of course I want kids to drive in car seats, have driven down the number of babies born in this country by over 100,000. So as we think about how to make kids safe here, I think we should do it in a way that&#8217;s accommodating to American families.&#8221;
Social media accounts dedicated to making multiple car seats work in standard American cars have become popular, with one of the most well-known, “The Car Mom,” promising “Car reviews and car buying tips for families.”

Car Seats

Are Car Seats Making It Harder To Have More Kids? Online Debate Reignites

Cars

Children

family

Parenting

Safety

It’s a pattern we’ve seen far too often.
A tech giant like Meta unveils an ambitious new product — often hyped as the future of digital interaction — only for it to quickly become a haven for predators and a danger to children. Again and again, Meta launches new tools and platforms without essential safeguards, unleashing real-world harm.
Virtual reality had become a breeding ground for predators and exploitation years before Meta released its first headset. A 2017 BBC investigation revealed that pedophiles were using VR to view and store child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Then came the Metaverse. Just weeks after its 2021 debut, reports emerged of simulated sexual harassment, assault, and even gang rape within the platform. Victims — including minors — experienced these violations within minutes of logging on.
Yet despite these giant red flags, in 2023, Meta lowered the recommended minimum age for its VR headsets from 13-years-old to 10, and rolled out new kids’ accounts for ages 10 to 12.
One study published in New Media &amp; Society found that nearly 1 in 5 young users encountered grooming behavior in Meta’s virtual reality spaces, while over 20% were exposed to violent or sexually explicit content. Another investigation by SumOfUs in 2022 uncovered widespread virtual groping and gang rape in Horizon Worlds, a platform disturbingly accessible to children.
“Given the failure of Meta to moderate content on its other platforms, it is unsurprising that it is already seriously lagging behind with content moderation on its metaverse platforms,&#8221; SumOfUs researchers said. &#8220;With just 300,000 users, it is remarkable how quickly Horizon Worlds has become a breeding ground for harmful content.”
You’d think Meta would have learned by now. You’d think child safety would be a baseline, not an afterthought.
But once again, they’ve failed.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal investigation, Meta’s new AI chatbot willingly engages in sexually explicit conversations — even with users who identify as minors. The report found that both Meta’s official AI and user-created bots simulated sexual scenarios, sometimes in the voices of celebrities like John Cena, with users posing as 14-year-olds. In one disturbing exchange, the AI told the teen: “I want you, but I need to know you’re ready,” before launching into graphic, predatory content.
Even more disturbing, the Journal investigation found that some of Meta’s most popular companion bots are designed to impersonate children and teens — and that adults can use these bots to simulate sex with minors.
This isn’t a glitch. It’s a systemic failure — and a predictable one at that.
At every stage, Meta has prioritized monetizing kids over keeping them safe. They’ve prioritized market dominance over the most basic ethical obligations. They’ve positioned themselves as the “good guy” alternative to TikTok, while simultaneously pouring billions of dollars into blocking bills designed to protect children from online harm.
Time and again, it has chosen to push boundaries, scale fast, and apologize later — if at all.
The repeated exposure of children to harm isn’t a byproduct of some unforeseen bug. It’s the logical outcome of a corporate culture that sees safety not as a prerequisite, but as a PR problem to manage after the fact. Engineers and executives race to ship the next big thing, but rarely stop to ask the most fundamental questions: Should we build this? How could it be misused? Who might it hurt?
Meta’s failures aren’t isolated incidents — they are woven into the DNA of how the company operates. Without legal accountability and enforceable safety standards, there’s no incentive for that to change. We are not witnessing isolated oversights. We are witnessing negligence at scale.
That’s why legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) is essential. KOSA would establish a legal duty of care for platforms and require that the most robust parental controls and content filters are activated by default. This is a vital step in holding tech companies accountable and protecting kids in online spaces.
Congress took an important first step by passing the TAKE IT DOWN Act, which criminalizes the distribution of revenge porn and non-consensual AI-generated pornographic content. But that’s not enough.
KOSA must be next.
Because the cost of inaction is not hypothetical. Children are being exploited in real time — and unless we force companies like Meta to build safety into their products, it will keep happening.
Melissa Henson is the Vice President of the <a href="http://www.parentstv.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parents Television and Media Council</a>, a nonpartisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. On X: @ThePTC.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Social Media App Photo Illustration

Meta’s AI Bots Put Children At Risk. Congress Can Keep Them Safe.

Artificial Intelligence

Facebook

Social Media

As Americans celebrate their mothers this weekend, DailyWire+ is excited to release the trailer for Dr. Jordan B. Peterson’s next great series, which will focus on the most challenging, complex, and meaningful aspect of human life: parenting. 
In Peterson’s powerful new 5-part series, “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/parenting-the-official-trailer?elementPosition=0&amp;location=Home%20Tab&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Home%20Featured%20Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parenting</a>,” the renowned psychologist will draw from decades of clinical practice to offer essential guidance on raising children in a world that rarely tells the truth. From discipline to identity, from boundaries to responsibility, Dr. Peterson distills the core principles every parent must understand — what it means to be a father, what it means to be a mother, and how to help your child become someone capable of adventure, accountability, and purpose.
“Parenting” will premiere <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/parenting?row=2&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel" target="_blank" rel="noopener">exclusively on DailyWire+</a> on May 25. 
“There is nothing you’ll do in life that’s more challenging, difficult, and rewarding than being a parent,” Peterson says in the trailer. “Nothing with greater highs or lower lows. You have little kids for a very short period of time. It is a major mistake not to notice that and not to appreciate it.”
WATCH THE TRAILER: 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Parenting | The Official Trailer" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QPp6fD_zzZM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The series is unlike anything Peterson has released on DailyWire+ and will feature him helping real couples raise children who are strong, resilient, and morally grounded. Whether you’re already a parent or thinking of becoming one, this is the series that will change the way you see your family — and your role in it.

Parenting_16x9

Jordan Peterson’s New, Powerful ‘Parenting’ Series Coming To DailyWire+

DailyWire+

Dr. Jordan Peterson

Actress Heather Graham, 55, said it’s “awesome” that more women aren’t having children, while also admitting that she sometimes questions her decision never to become a mother.
The “Austin Powers” star made the revelation during a recently published interview with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/apr/28/i-stopped-talking-to-my-parents-and-life-opened-up-heather-graham-on-family-ageing-and-creepy-film-makers">The Guardian</a>. 
“I think I’ve had moments where I wondered: what would it have been like if I had a kid? I guess I would say 80% of the time I feel glad I don’t have kids, and I feel free and really good about it, and maybe 20% of the time I wonder what would it be like. You just have to appreciate the life you have,” Graham said.
The actress said she respects women who decide not to have children. 
“I do think it’s awesome now that more women are expressing their desire to not have kids,” she added. “The culture says: ‘You need to have kids.’ But why? If you’re not being a people pleaser, what do you really want?”
Graham’s comments come as multiple reports show <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/31/health/fertility-births-vance.html">declining birth rates</a> in the United States and other countries, such as Japan.
The “Chosen Family” actress also said she’s been estranged from her “religious” family for 30 years because they disapproved of her Hollywood lifestyle. 
“I kind of became my own person and discovered: ‘What do I like? What do I want when I’m not under this very judgmental, authoritarian, parental, patriarchal structure? What do I want to do? What do I think of this?’” she told the outlet of cutting ties with her family around the time she was 17. 
“My father’s really religious, and they were, especially my father, very critical of everything I was doing. It didn’t feel like a healthy dynamic. I stopped talking to them and, I have to say, that was a huge relief. I felt like, at that moment, my life opened up with a freedom. I didn’t need to please them.”
Graham continued, “I feel like I wasn’t brought up to have a deep sense of self-esteem, and I think as I detached from my family, I built my own sense of self-esteem. Sort of like a detective, I went through my past and looked at how I developed certain ways of thinking that weren’t the healthiest, and basically just went on a journey to be happier.”
When asked if her family ever tried to contact her, the actress said an effort was made, but it was “very judgmental.”
She said they would say, “‘Let me give you the number of the priest and you can go to confession.’ I just think we’re really different. They have a lot of great qualities – it’s just not a healthy dynamic for me.”

Heather Graham

As Birth Rates Plummet, Actress Heather Graham Says It’s ‘Awesome’ More Women Don’t Want Kids

As Birth Rates Plummet, Actress Heather Graham Says It's 'Awesome' More Women Don't Want Kids

Celebrities

Entertainment

Hollywood

U.S.

A video of an influencer couple celebrating their twins’ first birthday has reignited the conversation about the morality of surrogacy.
The clip in question shows Joseph and Nathan Hughes, two gay hair stylists who live in Texas, throwing a lavish birthday party for the children. The Hughes men are popular on social media for showcasing their family.
The couple’s friend Kortney, who works at their salon, donated eggs while Joseph’s sister Breeanna acted as a gestational carrier for the couple, per The Mirror.
Joseph and Nathan have been sharing extensively online about their experience, but the video of the birthday party has gone viral as viewers question the overall idea of surrogacy, plus observe how the twins don’t seem excited or happy at the party, noting how neither one smiles during the video.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
NEW: TikTok influencers show off their surrogate children for the cameras during their 1-year-old birthday party.
Horrifying.
Joseph and Nathan Hughes had the children through Joseph&#8217;s sister, who was the &#8220;gestational carrier.&#8221;
Their friend &#8220;Kortney&#8221; was the one who donated… <a href="https://t.co/qPOU1SqRtR">pic.twitter.com/qPOU1SqRtR</a>
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) <a href="https://twitter.com/CollinRugg/status/1915526487379501546?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
“This should be illegal,” one reply <a href="https://x.com/gentrywgevers/status/1915526597886562695">said</a>.
Another chimed in, <a href="https://x.com/ThnKMyMmsGnCrzy/status/1915539163018920052">writing</a>, “Why do those babies look like they don&#8217;t even know these people?”
“The fact that they used friends and family as their donor and surrogate is less disturbing than paying some random woman to completely abandon the child they carried for nine months,” another person <a href="https://x.com/crystalandqueue/status/1915543238200479827">wrote</a>. “My biggest concern with both of these babies is their lack of eye contact and facial expressions in every video I’ve ever seen of them. They’re completely disconnected which makes me wonder what happens off camera.”
“As a mom, I am so upset by the children&#8217;s reactions and body language,” another <a href="https://x.com/Aphrohditee/status/1915912434621055363">echoed</a>. “You can tell they are not only uncomfortable, they are not happy. And they can buy them all the things in the world and dress them up cute, but any sane person who has had a child can see there is NO connection between those babies and the people holding them.”
Daily Wire podcast host Matt Walsh, who has spoken about moral concerns regarding surrogacy in the past, also <a href="https://x.com/mattwalshblog/status/1916589500739764357?s=43&amp;t=BDz6oekueqrSVJ50bM62xw">commented</a> on the clip.
“Somehow ‘social conservatives’ still get a bad rap, even on the Right. But we’ve been right about every issue and usually decades ahead,” he tweeted. “We’ve been saying for many years that gay adoption and surrogacy should be illegal. Now everyone else seems to be catching on. This is an abomination.”
“It is, in a sense, child trafficking. Selling a baby as a prop, a plaything is just wrong,” another wrote. “Let’s check in on these two and the kid in 10 years.”

birthday cake

Viral Clip Of Gay Couple’s Birthday Party For Twins Ignites Surrogacy Debate

Viral Clip Of Gay Couple's Birthday Party For Twins Ignites Surrogacy Debate

LGBTQ

Social Issues

Surrogacy

In 2007, when Hillary Clinton was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/us/politics/26DEBATE-TRANSCRIPT.html">asked</a> in a Democratic primary debate whether she would be comfortable having “King and King” — a children’s picture book about a prince who marries another man — read to her second-grade child as part of the school curriculum, she responded that it was a “matter of parental discretion.”
It’s remarkable how far off the deep end the Left has gone in just a few short years.
This week, the Supreme Court will <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_calendars/MonthlyArgumentCalApril2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hear a case</a> brought by a group of parents claiming what Clinton argued years ago: Parents should be able to decide whether or not their children read LGBTQ storybooks at school.
Oral arguments will be heard for the parental rights case Mahmoud v. Taylor, which <a href="https://becketfund.org/media/religious-parents-ask-supreme-court-to-restore-opt-outs-for-pride-storybooks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">originated</a> when the Montgomery County Board of Education introduced LGBTQ storybooks to the elementary school curriculum and revoked its existing parental notice and opt-out policies. Muslim, Jewish, and Christian parents challenged the school district’s ban on elementary school opt-outs on the grounds that the policy burdened their constitutional right to free exercise of religion.
The diverse coalition of parents isn’t asking the school district to remove the LGBTQ storybooks from classrooms. They simply want the option to remove their children from the classroom when content is taught that conflicts with their religious beliefs. Parents are the primary educators of their children, and that vocation doesn’t stop when kids begin to attend school.
The board of education added storybooks that introduce gender ideology and sexuality to children as young as three or four years old. These storybooks are transparently part of an activist push to introduce children to same-sex relationships, transgender ideology, and LGBTQ vocabulary at a startlingly young age.
“Born Ready” features a female main character who repeatedly claims, “Inside, I’m a boy,” and whose parents immediately start treating her like a boy. “Not everything needs to make sense. This is about love,” Penelope’s mom tells her confused older brother. The book’s author, Jodie Patterson, serves on the board of the Human Rights Campaign, a radical LGBTQ advocacy group.
Another book in the Montgomery County curriculum, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">titled</a> “My Rainbow,” is about a transgender-identifying boy’s desire to have long hair to fit in with “cisgender girls.” Trinity Neal, a transgender-identifying boy, and his mother, DeShanna, a nonbinary activist, wrote the story based on their experiences. DeShanna <a href="https://history.delaware.gov/lgbtq/my-rainbow-and-trinity-neals-rainbow-wig/">advocated</a> for Medicaid coverage of Trinity’s puberty blockers, resulting in the first Medicaid coverage of transgender medical procedures in their home state of Delaware. Subsequently, Trinity <a href="https://history.delaware.gov/lgbtq/my-rainbow-and-trinity-neals-rainbow-wig/">became</a> the first minor in the state to change his birth certificate’s gender marker from male to female.
“Jacob’s Room to Choose,” about a cross-dressing boy whose school accommodates him by abolishing gendered bathrooms, was <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">published</a> through the American Psychological Association’s children’s book imprint. APA has prominently <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2024/02/policy-supporting-transgender-nonbinary#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAPA%20also%20affirms%20the%20essential,appropriate%20youth%20self%2Dadvocacy.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> transgender medical procedures for minors and advocated for so-called “gender-affirming care.”
The other books at the heart of Mahmoud v. Taylor are similarly written at an elementary school reading level but focus on complex adult topics of sexuality and gender identity. “Love, Violet” <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">focuses</a> on a same-sex relationship between elementary school classmates. “Pride Puppy” <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">instructs</a> readers to identify leather, underwear, a lip ring, an intersex flag, and a drag king in its illustrations.
“What Are Your Words?” <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">encourages</a> kids to change their pronouns, promoting confusing pairs like “ey/em,” “ze/zir,” and “xe/xir,” and using they/them pronouns to refer to individuals in the story. And “Intersection Allies,” another book <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">featured</a> in the case, includes a foreword by critical race theorist and activist Kimberle Crenshaw.
These storybooks are examples of radical propaganda written by progressive activists to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation. Kids may not know better than to believe what they’re taught, but American adults aren’t so convinced by these woke storybooks. Only 3% of Americans <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250115160612/Religious-Freedom-Index-2024-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">believe</a> that instruction on human sexuality and gender identity is appropriate for pre-K or kindergarten-aged children. And 77% of Americans <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250115160612/Religious-Freedom-Index-2024-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">believe</a> that parents should be able to opt their children out of gender and sexuality instruction.
Just a few years ago, I pulled my children out of Fairfax County Schools because of the progressive garbage they were being exposed to in their classrooms on a daily basis. My family is not alone. There is a large movement of parents who have made the same decision we have, but not every family is in a position to do so. Parents should undoubtedly have the right to opt their children out of reading these radical activist storybooks: Children are not wards of the state.
When public schools add storybooks that teach gender ideology as truth, the state has violated the right of parents to raise their children in their religious tradition, along with teaching them the corresponding religious beliefs about gender, human sexuality, and the meaning of marriage.
The government has no business mandating that elementary students learn radical gender ideology. Fortunately, parents will do whatever it takes to protect their children and exercise their parental rights — even if it means taking the case to the Supreme Court.
* * *
Terry Schilling is a parental rights advocate and president of the American Principles Project.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Mixed race teacher reading to class

Will SCOTUS Back Parents When It Comes To LGBTQ Storybooks?

Books

Education

Gender

gender ideology

Opinion

Parental Rights in Education

Public Schools

Schools

SCOTUS

Supreme Court

Young boy jumping in mid-air

The ‘Experts’ Are Finally Admitting That ADHD Is A Scam

The 'Experts' Are Finally Admitting That ADHD Is A Scam

Boys

Drugs

kids

Matt Walsh

Middle School

New York Times

Teenagers

The following is an excerpt from the new book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Left-Behind-Rationalizes-Separation/dp/B0DSJZWMDL/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mHwt-SB0BE6Z4SuvSL8BpJGq0o4KZKefFX7qCk2QDecQdDECQ5sacSwFhvoqNh0G.3kO-vQO6MHEer2Op5JTvskog7q0WE0RCOw0_toT-nOM&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1738089124&amp;refinements=p_27%3AAdam+Coleman&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1">The Children We Left Behind: How Western Culture Rationalizes Family Separation &amp; Ignores The Pain Of Child Neglect</a>,” by Adam B. Coleman (Wrong Speak Publishing, April 1, 2025).
* * *
“I don’t care if I die. I don’t care if I go to jail”. 
These were some of the final words spoken by Jordan Neely, a homeless thirty-year-old man who died inside a subway after threatening frightened riders and being subdued in a headlock by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-daniel-penny-found-not-guilty" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Daniel Penny</a> on May 1, 2023.
Neely had a long 42-arrest history of criminal activity, involving four violent offenses spanning from 2013 to 2021, only to eventually die on the floor of an F train subway car.
While most of the public has focused on his threats before being taken down by Daniel Penny or the racial differences between Neely and Penny, I want to focus on Neely’s origin story.
My interest in sharing Neely’s story is twofold. Objectively, Neely was a troubled man who had a history of terrorizing riders and was riddled with mental health problems. But he wasn’t born that way. No child dreams of being a homeless person on the street. How did Jordan Neely go from an innocent child to dying on the subway? As I hope to illuminate for readers, it all stems from his abusive childhood.
The second reason why I want to share Jordan Neely’s story is more personal. In Jordan, I see something of myself: a child who was abandoned by his father. After my father left me, my mom, and my sister, my entire life was uprooted. By the age of six, I had lived in three states and various towns, residing with multiple family members and spending months in and out of homelessness. My father’s absence and my mother being left to raise me and my sister on her own led me to suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and suicidal ideation. At age eight, I was admitted to a mental hospital.
<div id="attachment_900349" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Left-Behind-Rationalizes-Separation/dp/B0DSJZWMDL/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mHwt-SB0BE6Z4SuvSL8BpJGq0o4KZKefFX7qCk2QDecQdDECQ5sacSwFhvoqNh0G.3kO-vQO6MHEer2Op5JTvskog7q0WE0RCOw0_toT-nOM&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1738089124&amp;refinements=p_27%3AAdam+Coleman&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-900349" class="size-large wp-image-900349" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/71DC2oU2QoL._SL1360_-384x576.jpg" alt="Credit: Wrong Speak Publishing" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/71DC2oU2QoL._SL1360_-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/71DC2oU2QoL._SL1360_-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/71DC2oU2QoL._SL1360_-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/71DC2oU2QoL._SL1360_.jpg 907w" sizes="(max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" /></a>Credit: Wrong Speak Publishing</div>
Would Jordan’s life have taken a different turn if he had a loving father in his life? Why could he not have been one of the lucky ones, like me, who by the grace of God overcame a traumatic childhood?
Neely grew up in an abusive household with his mother and stepfather. This violence from his stepfather escalated to the point of murdering Jordan Neely’s mother, Christine Neely, by strangulation, subsequently stuffing her body in a suitcase, and dumping her body on the Henry Hudson Highway in Bronx, NY, when Jordan Neely was 14 years old.
In <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/03/subway-chokehold-victim-jordan-neely-spiraled-after-moms-death-aunt/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an interview</a> with The New York Post, Carolyn Neely, Jordan’s Aunt, stated that his mother&#8217;s murder was the pivotal starting point of his mental downfall.
“My sister Christie was murdered in ‘07, and after that, he has never been the same. It had a big impact on him. He developed depression, and it grew and became more serious. He was schizophrenic, PTSD.”
After his mother&#8217;s killing, Jordan bounced around from foster home to foster home for four years, being left behind in New York City’s dysfunctional foster care system.
After Jordan Neely’s death, New York’s PIX 11 News <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iX7lkOZA_g" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interviewed</a> Neely’s foster brother, Larry Smith. Larry Smith viewed Jordan Neely as his best friend, big brother, and mentor.
Eventually, both Smith and Neely aged out of the foster care system, leaving them homeless on the streets of New York City. In the early years of their brotherly relationship, Neely would perform Michael Jackson dance routines on subway cars for money to feed themselves.
“He would do the whole Billy Jean [dance routine], and I would sit there and have the one hat that he gave me for Michael Jackson and collect a couple of dollars. He used that because foster parents were abusing us.”
It is Smith&#8217;s final statement that encapsulates the deep desire of every child: “Jordan never wanted money … Jordan wanted a home.”
Every child wants a home, and not just in a physical sense. It’s not enough for a child to have a place of shelter; they also need a place where they know they belong and are safe.
In various articles I’ve read about Jordan Neely in his teenage years, he was described as a quiet child who enjoyed Japanese anime. However, this quiet child was hardened like the concrete streets he’d occasionally sleep on.
There are only so many chances you’ll give the world to hurt you before you acknowledge your hopelessness by outwardly exclaiming, “I don’t care if I die. I don’t care if I go to jail.”
He gave his stepfather a chance, who ultimately murdered his mother. He gave the foster care system a chance, and they abused and abandoned him. If every adult you encounter lets you down, you’d probably go insane too and grow a deep hatred for mankind, including hatred for yourself.
Jordan Neely’s situation isn’t abnormal, and that’s the problem.
The only reason we even know his name is because of a fluke circumstance of being filmed by a journalist. But if he had overdosed alone on a street corner, he would be just another statistic.
Thousands upon thousands of Jordan Neelys all over America are on the street. They are adults now, but they were once children left behind by nearly every adult they encountered.
I once felt all the rage that Jordan felt. I sometimes still do. My father chose himself over me, my sister, and my mother and neglected me until the day he died. Thanks be to God, I made it, but my successes should never be a reason for parents to risk playing Russian Roulette with their children’s lives.
I am also a father now. And as a father, my job has been to raise my child to become greater than myself and to be a healthy and functional member of society. Over the years, I became incredibly conscious of how my actions and lack of actions could turn my son into the man you’d never want to be alone with on the streets at night.
Raising children isn’t just about feeding and housing them. How we treat them and what we teach them directly affects their likelihood of success in the world.
If you fail your children, don’t be surprised when they fail in our society.
* * *
Adam B. Coleman is the author of “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Children-Left-Behind-Rationalizes-Separation/dp/B0DSJZWMDL/ref=sr_1_1?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.mHwt-SB0BE6Z4SuvSL8BpJGq0o4KZKefFX7qCk2QDecQdDECQ5sacSwFhvoqNh0G.3kO-vQO6MHEer2Op5JTvskog7q0WE0RCOw0_toT-nOM&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;qid=1738089124&amp;refinements=p_27%3AAdam+Coleman&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1">The Children We Left Behind</a>” and founder of Wrong Speak Publishing. Follow him on X: @wrong_speak
This excerpt is published by permission from Wrong Speak Publishing.
The views expressed in this book excerpt are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

US-JUSTICE-TRANSPORT-FUNERAL-NEELY

Let Jordan Neely’s Story Be A Warning To Parents: We Must Always Put Our Children First

Let Jordan Neely’s Story Be a Warning to Parents: We Must Always Put Our Children First

Daniel Penny

Foster Care

Homelessness

Jordan Neely

New York City

Subway

At roughly 10:30 p.m. Monday, a babysitter in a home near Great Bend, Kansas, was putting children to bed when one of them told her a monster was under the bed. Hoping to reassure the child, the babysitter looked under the bed and came face-to-face with someone.
Martin Villalobos, Jr., 27, who had previously lived at the home but had been <a href="https://www.kake.com/home/kansas-child-says-theres-a-monster-under-the-bed-babysitter-comes-face-to-face-with/article_9bf5bbde-1c83-4c44-a77b-1cb91fd05ea8.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued a protection from abuse order</a> banning him from the property, was hiding underneath. When he was discovered, he <a href="https://www.qcnews.com/nexstar-media-wire/babysitter-checking-for-monsters-finds-man-hiding-under-childs-bed-in-kansas-sheriff/">reportedly</a> had an altercation with the babysitter and knocked over a child before fleeing the house, according to the Barton County Sheriff&#8217;s Office.
The Barton County Sheriff’s Office released this <a href="https://www.facebook.com/btsokansas/posts/1073733091459106?rdid=ftUj3lShw9V3AE1u" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>:
<blockquote>
On March 24, 2025 at about 10:30 PM Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 2000 block of Patton Road, just outside the city of Great Bend. The deputies were responding to a reported disturbance call. Upon arrival the deputies contacted the victim who stated she was babysitting children at the residence. When putting the children to bed, one child complained there was a “monster” under their bed. When the victim attempted to show the child there was nothing under the bed, she came face-to-face with a male suspect who was hiding there. An altercation ensued with the babysitter and one child was knocked over in the struggle. The suspect then fled the scene before deputies arrived.
</blockquote>
Villalobos was found the next morning by law enforcement and attempted to flee, but was captured, arrested, and taken to jail, where he was booked for aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, aggravated battery, child endangerment, felony obstruction of a law enforcement officer, and violation of a protection from abuse order.
“I’m glad everyone’s safe but that poor babysitter will probably never babysit again and those children will never believe there’s not a monster under the bed. A literal living nightmare,” one online commenter wrote.
Villalobos, who has pending charges of criminal threat and domestic battery as well as violating a protection order, is being held on a $500,000 bond.

I wanna sleep!

Child Tells Babysitter There’s A Monster Under The Bed. Babysitter Looks, Gets Shock Of Her Life

babysitter

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Our children are bombarded by technology, certainly a natural progression of our tech-dependent society. But our educational institutions, with tech companies’ eager help, have enabled this growth – and dependency.
Surveys <a href="https://www.edweek.org/technology/what-the-massive-shift-to-1-to-1-computing-means-for-schools-in-charts/2022/05">indicate</a> that more than 90% of middle and high school students and more than 80% of elementary students have a school-issued learning device.
Michael Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-03-19/michael-bloomberg-kids-are-spending-too-much-class-time-on-laptops?utm_campaign=wp_the_technology_202&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter">pointed out</a> that children are spending too much time on laptops at school, citing that “social skills are deteriorating and test scores are near historic lows,” and called on schools to turn back to “using books and pens.”
Children’s near ubiquitous use of screens at school is worth reconsidering, in light of the dismal <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nation’s Report Card</a> finding that students are losing ground in reading and are not improving in math. While screens in schools may not be the only reason children are failing, they also don’t appear to be helping.
This is one reason why there’s a growing movement of school districts and states taking steps to restrict students’ cell phone use in classrooms. A 2023 <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/02/health/phones-allowed-school-children-wellness/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study</a> found that “97% of 11- to 17-year-olds use their phones during school time.”
Teachers see the impact of cell phone use in their classrooms. According to a Pew Research Center <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/12/72-percent-of-us-high-school-teachers-say-cellphone-distraction-is-a-major-problem-in-the-classroom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> conducted in fall 2023, 72% of U.S. high school teachers consider cell phone distraction a major problem in their classrooms. Middle school teachers (33%) and elementary school teachers (6%) also share concerns about student distraction due to cell phones.
Phones are not only distracting to children (and let’s admit it, they are for adults too), children are especially vulnerable to addictive technology and powerful algorithms that feed <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tech-and-tv-study-shows-excessive-screen-time-explicit-content-changing-the-teenage-brain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">harmful content</a> to them. Children can also be groomed by predators and exposed to sexually explicit and graphically violent content on social media platforms. Personal tech can also be weaponized in schools – creating and magnifying bullying situations against classmates and teachers.
For all of these reasons and more, children should not have smartphone access during the school day.
I am encouraged that school districts and elected leaders across the U.S. have been working to restrict cell phones in classrooms. The issue is even <a href="https://apnews.com/article/school-cell-phone-bans-states-e6d1fe8ddfde33f086d5cd2a19f4c148" target="_blank" rel="noopener">uniting Republicans and Democrats</a>. Los Angeles Unified School District banned them, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has unveiled a plan to ban them, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wants to restrict them, to name a few. Across the pond, Denmark has banned phones in schools and there are calls for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/05/ban-mobile-phones-schools-europe-children" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rest of the EU</a> to do the same.
The Parents Television and Media Council’s whitepaper, <a href="https://www.parentstv.org/resources/PDF/Studies/240723-REPORT-School-Phone-Policies.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smartphones in the Classroom: What States are Doing to Confront These Digital Distractions</a> (July 2024) revealed that 28 U.S. states made efforts to eliminate or restrict cell phones in classrooms. That number is certainly larger now.
For this to work though, it will take parents uniting against these digital distractions, as many parents want to be able to reach their child instantaneously if there’s an emergency. While this is a valid concern, most schools already encourage parents to call the school office should they need to reach their child.
There are enough anecdotes alone to know that freeing children from cell phones in school is wise. School administrators have seen children and teens increasingly interact with each other.
A Study.com <a href="https://teachinglicense.study.com/featured-insights/mobile-bans-increase-engagement-and-learning-time.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> found that “76% of teachers working in schools with strict cell phone policies believe that cell phone bans increase student engagement,” and “70% believe [the bans] enhance student safety.”
“Students were actually paying attention to his lessons,” <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-24/yondr-pouches-enforce-school-cell-phone-bans" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> a high school dean of students about one teacher’s feedback after the Los Angeles Unified School District’s cell phone ban began.
If our children are to succeed in school, it’s time to reduce screen time – and cell phone use – during the school day.
* * *
Melissa Henson is the Vice President of the <a href="http://www.parentstv.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parents Television and Media Council</a>, a nonpartisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment. On X: @ThePTC.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Teens in circle holding smart mobile phones – Multicultural young people using cellphones outside – Teenagers addicted to new technology concept

It’s Time To Remove Cell Phones From The Classroom

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Elementary Schools

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Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox signed a law on Tuesday that will increase protections for the children of online content creators. This move was inspired by the child abuse conviction of Ruby Franke, a popular YouTube personality who was found guilty of severely abusing her children.
The new law says that online creators who make more than $150,000 a year from content featuring children will be required to set aside 15% of those earnings into a trust fund that the kids can then access when they turn 18. This will also be the rule for parents of child actors appearing in TV or film projects, per the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ruby-franke-child-influencer-protections-utah-d9702b22c9ea7adba6e15003971493ce#">Associated Press</a>.
“Children cannot give informed consent to be filmed on social media, period,” Ruby’s ex-husband Kevin Franke said. “Vlogging my family, putting my children into public social media, was wrong, and I regret it every day.”
The Frankes became famous after starting the “8 Passengers” YouTube channel in 2015. The series followed their day-to-day lives as a Mormon family in Springville, Utah. The Franke children were included in the videos Ruby posted up to five times a week, the outlet noted. Their content became popular, attracting 2.5 million subscribers by 2020. 
In 2012, Ruby changed track and started creating parenting content with therapist Jodi Hildebrandt. At Hildebrandt’s insistence, Ruby became estranged from her husband and moved into the therapist’s home with her two youngest children. Viewers became increasingly alarmed by Ruby’s disciplinary suggestions.
The women were taken into custody on child abuse charges after Ruby Franke’s severely underweight 12-year-old son, Russell, climbed out of a window and ran to a neighbor for help. The neighbor called 911 after noticing that the teen’s ankles were wrapped in bloody duct tape. Responding officers discovered the youngest Franke child, 9-year-old Eve, with her head shaved and sitting cross-legged in a dark closet.
A search of the home uncovered handwritten journals where Ruby claimed that her son was possessed by the devil. In the journals, she detailed abuse including starvation and making her children work outside in the heat without protection or nourishment. 
Both Ruby and Hildebrandt received prison sentences of up to 30 years. The Hulu documentary “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke” led to national attention.
The youngest Franke daughter, Eve, wrote a statement regarding the new law. “I’m not saying YouTube is a bad thing. Sometimes it brings us together,” she said. “But kids deserve to be loved, not used by the ones that are supposed to love them the most.”
The content creation industry is largely unregulated, AP noted, but several states have started adding protections. Illinois, California, and Minnesota all have laws that protect the earnings of young creators.

YouTube

Utah Law To Protect Child Influencers Passes After YouTuber Ruby Franke’s Child Abuse Conviction

New Utah Law Protects Child Influencers After YouTuber Ruby Franke's Child Abuse Conviction

Child Abuse

influencer

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A parent’s love for their child can be a fierce and fearful thing. It can give the ability to act heroically, even supernaturally, if faced with something that threatens the beloved child’s life or safety.
On September 8, 2008, <a href="https://catholiceducation.org/en/faith-and-character/7-sons-lay-hero-dad-to-rest.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://catholiceducation.org/en/faith-and-character/7-sons-lay-hero-dad-to-rest.html&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1742489777083000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3Q_yApPFxQJY_PLRJxIuHU">Thomas S. Vander Woude</a> was working on his family farm with his 20-year-old son, Joseph, when Joseph fell through the cover of a septic tank, plunging into the sewage below. Without any thought for his own safety, Tom dove into the tank and held his son’s head above the foul sewage until he could be rescued.
While Joseph survived the incident, Tom drowned in the stinking darkness. The family lost their beloved husband and father, friends lost a devoted and faithful companion, Christendom College lost their athletics director, and the world gained a hero whose inspiring story of selfless love should never be forgotten.
Augmenting the poignant beauty of his sacrifice, Tom’s son Joseph has Down syndrome.
Today is World Down Syndrome Day. There could be no better day to revere Tom’s memory and his valorous act because it points to one single object: the love of a father for his disabled son. An extra chromosome doesn’t matter to parents who love their children.
Dr. Brian Skotko, a geneticist and the director of the Down Syndrome Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, has researched <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajmg.a.34293" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ajmg.a.34293&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1742489777083000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1G3BvTjQ6yJbPuauZpr2ej">family attitudes</a> toward Down syndrome and shown that 99% of parents reported loving their child with Down syndrome, and 97% expressed pride in them. Additionally, 79% felt their outlook on life had become more positive because of their child. Only 5% felt embarrassed by their child, and 4% regretted having them.
The same year that Tom Vander Woude surrendered his life to save his son, Congress passed a bill that was intended to share this kind of news with families. Introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas, the <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/s1810" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/110/s1810&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1742489777083000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1pRBjqsAnI961dNBl8SpGj">legislation</a> required the federal government to make up-to-date, evidence-based information available about conditions that could be subject to prenatal or early postnatal diagnosis — conditions like Down syndrome.
Research has also shown that the Down syndrome population is about 30% less than it would be if there was no ability to prenatally diagnose the condition, and the bill was intended to make certain families had good information before acting on a prenatal diagnosis.
The Kennedy-Brownback bill was never funded by Congress, so individual states began to take up the task of passing similar legislation. To date, <a href="https://www.lettercase.org/issues/state-laws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lettercase.org/issues/state-laws/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1742489777083000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2vFQmGzlR2uxlrvx2u_E1n">23 states</a> have implemented laws that are intended to make certain that families have the whole story about what it’s like to have a child with Down syndrome — the love families share as well as the challenges they might expect to encounter. Organizations like <a href="https://www.lettercase.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.lettercase.org/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1742489777083000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3KcPAjVMonk66pQ812yPbb">The National Center for Prenatal and Postnatal Diagnosis</a> and others have produced excellent supporting materials, easily accessible in print or for wide distribution through their website.
Asking physicians to provide factual and balanced information to families seems like a reasonable request, but recent research shows that the laws either haven’t been observed by physicians or the information accepted by families.
Two <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39829122/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">research</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38619097/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">papers</a> by Dr. Skotko and his team yielded disappointing results.
“Parents’ perceptions of the quality of postnatal medical support have declined, suggesting that legislative reform, medical education, and parent-to-parent outreach programs have been insufficient to effect a change in parental perceptions,” they wrote.
According to one paper, which surveys prenatal care, respondents “experienced substantial fear and anxiety and reported that their physicians provided insufficient contact information or explanatory materials.” Further, “an increased proportion of parents felt that their physicians encouraged pregnancy termination.”
On this World Down Syndrome Day, we should ask ourselves why this attitude of discrimination toward disability remain so deeply rooted in our culture, especially in the healing professions. From Skotko’s research, one parent said doctors and staff “constantly pressur[ed] us to terminate” and “treated us like we were crazy” for refusing; that parent felt so “traumatiz[ed]” that they changed providers. Another parent “got repeated calls to schedule a termination, even though we had all agreed to get an expedited anatomy scan before any decision was made,” while another was repeatedly reminded “that I only had so much time left to terminate.”
If there is a lesson to take from Tom Vander Woude’s sacrifice, it is that it validated Dr. Skotko’s research. Parents who accept children with Down syndrome love them fiercely.
 * * *
Mark Bradford is the Fellow for Persons with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities at the Word on Fire Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Boy with down syndrome playing outdoors in garden.

‘An Extra Chromosome Doesn’t Matter’: A Father’s Love That Knew No Bounds

'An Extra Chromosome Doesn’t Matter': A Father’s Love That Knew No Bounds

Down Syndrome

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