🪞 Narcissism in kids

Happy Wednesday! It’s August 2 — people are talking a potential new wave of Covid, how to avoid raising a narcissist, and more.

As always, we’ve summarized and organized the different shades of perspective, so you can see the big picture quickly.

😷 In the news: A new wave of Covid?

The CDC says we could see another uptick in Covid hospitalizations. Is it time to worry? And what's fueling the recent surge?

😷 In late July, the CDC reported that covid hospitalizations and ER visits were on the rise. Fox News writes that it could mean a Covid wave is incoming.

😷 The WSJ says heatwaves and summer travel may be to blame. Unlike previous waves, there's no new variant fueling this surge.

😷 But The Atlantic says the summer wave is driven by several trends: staying indoors, summer travel, and immunological factors. Covid's still unpredictable.

😷 Either way, this Substacker says we've seen summer covid waves before. And here's the good news — excess deaths are still below pre-pandemic levels.

😷 Yahoo: Yup, please don’t panic. The risk of getting infected is still pretty low.

🪞 Cultural trend: Narcissism in kids

Are parents to blame when their kid is a narcissist? And what can parents do to avoid raising a kid who’s a narcissist?

🪞 USA Today: Narcissists are made, not born — and even well-meaning parents can create one. But how can you prevent it?

🪞 Goalcast says it's a big deal — and probably comes from shame-based parenting, conditional love, unlimited adoration, and bad role-modeling.

🪞 But Parents.com says chill, true narcissism (NPD disorder) is rare. All kids go through selfish phases — treat those behaviors with heart-to-heart conversations.

🪞 And this Reddit thread is skeptical of the "my kid is a narcissist" crowd. Are they actually, or are parents just playing victim?

🪞 Forbes says to go easy on the parents — it's really the internet's fault! Limit your child's screen time to nip narcissism in the bud.

Quick hits from today & yesterday

🌡️ Iran declared two public holidays in response to “unprecedented” heat in the country. (Reuters)

🔬 The family of Henrietta Lacks, whose cells were taken without her consent and used for research, reached a settlement with Thermo Fisher. (USA Today)

👨‍⚖️ Donald Trump was indicted on federal charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. (NYT)

🪓 Walt Disney World's governing district — which is controlled by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — abolished diversity, equity and inclusion programs. (NBC News)

That’s it for today! Reply at [email protected] with your takes, topic suggestions, or anything at all. Here at Shades we’re trying something new – quick summaries from different points of view. We’d love to hear what you think.