When it comes to babies and sleep, there are two things that most parents can probably agree on: They want their babies to sleep more and they want them to sleep safely. The thought of a baby dying in their sleep from things like sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is enough to keep any parent up at night, but conflicting information on sleep safety can sometimes be confusing.
Is co-sleeping OK? Should the baby be in their own room? What about sleeping in a car seat or bouncy chair? Our current guide to safe sleep for babies is here to address all of these questions and more. That should make everyone sleep a little easier!
They Were Born for This
Sophie Cruz
On a mission for justice and armed with a hand-drawn note, 5-year-old Sophie Cruz changed the world in 2015 when she ran out to the visiting Pope Francis's motorcade in Washington, D.C, literally stopping him in his tracks. The tiny messenger was born in America but lived in fear that her undocumented immigrant parents would be deported. Because of her, the pope spoke to Congress the next day about fairer immigration policies. In 2017, Sophie continued her path of leadership by being the youngest featured speaker at the Women's March on Washington.
Ryan Hickman
When he was 3 years old, Ryan Hickman took his first haul of cans and bottles to a local recycling plant in California. Inspired by how recycling kept waste from the ocean, Ryan started his own one-man company by collecting bottles and cans from his neighbors. In 2016, Ellen DeGeneres met the $11,000 he'd already earned, giving the world-changing, eco-entrepreneur enough money to pay for college when he was 7 years old! No surprise, he'd rather buy a truck and become a garbage man.
Mikaila Ulmer
Using her great-grandmother's flaxseed lemonade recipe, 4-year-old Mikaila Ulmer came up with the idea to help save honeybees by using honey instead of sugar to sweeten her drink. After being stung twice, then finding out how valuable bees were to the ecosystem, Mikaila founded "Me & The Bees Lemonade," a startup that secured funding from Daymond John of "Shark Tank" and a collection of NFL players. Now, with her products in stores nationwide, Mikaila donates a portion of her profits to organizations that help save the bees and encourage entrepreneurship in kids.
Robby Novak
Go on, try not to smile while watching Robby Novak (better known as Kid President) deliver inspiring pep talks on YouTube. It would be hard to tell from his constant upbeat and cheery personality (he has loads of charisma), but Robby suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle bones disease, and has had more than 70 breaks so far. Despite that, he dreams to unite the world through kindness and laugher, MLK-style.
Zuriel Oduwole
Self-taught child filmmaker Zuriel Oduwole is a powerful voice for the education of young girls in Africa. By the age of 12, she'd already made four documentaries, interviewed 14 heads of state and become the youngest person to ever be profiled by Forbes. Her most well-known film, "A Promising Africa," was screened in more than five countries. Zuriel continues to tour countries, educating others about global literacy and adding to the list of world leaders she's met.
Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Indigenous activist Xiuhtezcatl Martinez may only be a teenager, but he has moved mountains. Better yet, he's tried to preserve mountains and all things natural by being the spokesperson for a lawsuit against the federal government. Speaking around the country and appearing on shows like HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher," Xiuhtezcatl believes more could be done to act on climate change, and he educates others on what they can do.
