Teenagers

Lost between the years of playground kid and independent high schooler are the transitional years of middle school. Author Phyllis Fagell shares resources to help parents and adolescents communicate and cope through the years when kids are impressionable and trying to fit in.

A new St. Charles City-County library policy requires anyone under 18 to have a parent or guardian present to sign up for a library card. The move came in response to new rules from Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft threatening funding for libraries over "age-inappropriate" materials.

A Kansas City teenager is leading a push to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city council and school board elections. DJ Yearwood says it would make voting a habit from an earlier age and create a "civic transition into adulthood."

Kansas City teen DJ Yearwood is the campaign director of Vote16MO, an initiative to lower the voting age in municipal and school board elections in Missouri. The group wants to get a measure on the ballot by November 2024.

Organizers of Vote16MO, created by a Kansas City teen, said that lowering the voting age will increase civic education and engagement by allowing teens to be more involved in decisions that affect their lives.

Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley says he wants to take aim at "Big Tech" by raising the minimum age requirement to use social media from 13 to 16. But how likely is it that Congress will act?

After a fight drew police to Winnwood Skate Center, the Northland rink had to adopt a new policy requiring every child under 18 to have a chaperone. Now the owner is worried about leaving kids behind.

Johnson County schools have found success in a suicide prevention effort where teenagers help each other through mental health problems. Plus, the families of students in the Independence School District say they're frustrated by a lack of transparency.

Zero Reasons Why began after a rise in teen suicides. Four years later there’s still work to be done, but officials say the program has contributed to a decline in suicides and an increase in young people reaching out for help.

Teenagers and young adults have experienced record-breaking temperatures for much of their lives. Frustrated with the slow pace of progress among their parents’ generation, some young Missourians are taking action in their communities.

Six juveniles are facing felony murder charges after a killing in Black Bob Park in Olathe. The Johnson County district attorney is seeking to try four of them — all 14-years old — as adults, an exceedingly uncommon occurrence in Kansas.

Are there books that contain ideas so crucial to understanding the world that it's actually dangerous not to read them? We reached out to Kansas City's biggest book-readers and change-makers to find out what titles they'd put on such a list. Here's what they said.