(Feature Impact) Magical summer moments – road trips, pool days and warm evenings in the backyard – don’t happen by accident.

In fact, making that magic happen may feel like hard work for parents, according to a survey of American parents commissioned by Borden Cheese that discovered the pressure on adults during the summer months is higher than ever. Between scheduling activities, packing endless meals and keeping the family happy, the pressure to create memorable summer moments can quickly drain all the fun out of it.

A majority of respondents (72%) feel summers used to be simpler in terms of activities and expectations, while 89% of that group said it’s important for their children to experience simple summers.

“Summer is the time for enjoying the sunshine, fresh air, endless day time and quality time with family and friends,” said Jenny Mehlman, senior director of marketing, cheese, taste and flavors at Dairy Farmers of America. “Sometimes we get so caught up in the daily hustle, we forget to slow down and enjoy the little moments. Borden Cheese wants to help parents drop the high expectations, embrace a little bit of the mess and remember how good a simple, relaxed summer can feel.”

It’s clear parents are looking for more relaxing summer breaks, both for their children and themselves. Reclaiming family time can start with hacks that simplify summers, a tactic 81% of parents surveyed said they plan to use. Consider these top suggestions from respondents.

Allow More Flexibility with Children’s Routines

Summer offers a welcome break from the rigid schedules of the school year, and nearly half of respondents (45%) are embracing that opportunity by allowing more flexibility in their children’s routines. This might include later bedtimes, slower mornings or less structured playtime, giving families more room to explore, be creative and enjoy spontaneous adventures – the type that many parents remember from their own childhoods.

Prioritize Fun Over Perfection

The pressure to create a picture-perfect summer can become overwhelming. Instead of striving for elaborate vacations or curated calendars, 39% of parents said they plan to be more lenient with the expectations they place on themselves. This “fun over perfection” mindset allows families to focus on connection as parents spend less time worrying about details and more time enjoying simple pleasures from picnics and pool time to game nights at home.

Plan Simpler Meals

One-third of respondents plan to make simpler meals a regular part of their menu, and the majority of parents (84%) said they rely on quick, reliable meal and snack solutions like mac and cheese, deli meat wraps and simple cheese and cracker boards at least once per week during summer months. That’s why Borden Cheese Individually Wrapped Singles are unwrapping the simple, stress-free summer that parents need with family-friendly recipes, easy meal hacks and nostalgia-inducing weekly giveaways designed to give them a well-deserved break. For example, these Juicy Lucy Cheeseburger Sliders can feel a little “extra” without all the extra work. Beware: They’ll disappear fast.

So relax your expectations, embrace the mess and make space for real, carefree fun again. Visit BordenCheese.com/SimpleSummerFun to find more easy, cheesy meal ideas and learn how to participate in weekly giveaways.

Juicy Lucy Cheeseburger Sliders
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8-10 minutes
Servings: 4 (2 sliders per serving)

• 1 pound ground beef
• 4 slices Borden American Melts, quartered
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon steakhouse seasoning
• 8 slider buns, toasted

Toppings (optional):

• burger sauce
• caramelized onions
• pickle chips

1. Preheat grill or skillet to medium heat.
2. Divide beef into 16 balls and flatten into approximately 3-inch patties.
3. Place two cheese squares and onions on eight patties then top with remaining patties and press together. Season with steakhouse seasoning.
4. Cook sliders 4-5 minutes per side, until cooked through.
5. Place on buns and add burger sauce, caramelized onions and pickle chips, as desired. Serve warm.

SOURCE:
Borden

STM Daily News’ Food and Drink section highlights the stories, trends, flavors, and events shaping today’s food culture. From recipes to restaurant news, it keeps readers connected to what’s fresh and worth tasting.

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(Tiffany Miller) For years, homeownership was pitched as the finish line. Save for the down payment, buy the house and build wealth over time. According to new research from Unlock, a company that helps homeowners access the equity in their home, 75% of U.S. homeowners say they have no plan to buy or sell a home this year. That sounds like stability. But as the research reveals, it is starting to feel more like stagnation.

Owning a home turns out to cost more than people thought it would, according to the survey of 2,003 homeowners in the United States, conducted in January 2026. The research found that 65% of U.S. homeowners say it is more expensive than what they expected before they bought. The math goes past the mortgage. Nationwide, property taxes climbed 41% between 2018 and 2025, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, with home insurance, maintenance and everyday costs piling on top.

Homeowners are cutting back in places that used to be off-limits. Twenty-two percent of respondents reported putting less into retirement to keep up with the cost of owning their home. Another 33% are putting off bigger purchases, like a car. These are not inconsequential cuts. They are cuts to the financial goals owning a home is supposed to make easier in the first place, like building a nest egg, growing an emergency fund or saving for the future.

The pressure shows up in the present, too. Nearly a third of homeowners have less than $1,000 in emergency fund savings. More than half say day-to-day expenses are causing significant stress in their lives.

It is not only about cutting back or feeling stressed about day-to-day expenses. The survey found 19% of U.S. homeowners say they would rather double their commute time to work than take on another monthly payment. For homeowners already paying a mortgage, insurance, taxes and maintenance, another bill ranks below an extra hour in traffic.

Costs are only half the story. Homeowners are also sitting on real wealth, though they cannot always say how much. The survey found almost half of U.S. homeowners are not sure how much equity they have built up in their home, including 28% who say they are not sure how to find out. The average mortgaged home in the U.S. holds about $299,000 in equity, according to Cotality, a data and analytics company.

Ask homeowners how they feel about having equity in their homes and the answers do not quite line up. Sixty percent say the option to leverage home equity provides an extra level of financial security. Yet 48% say they view home equity as long-term wealth and retirement security, and would only leverage it as a last resort. They want the option there. They just do not want to use it.

The result is a kind of holding pattern. Homeowners are paying more, staying put in homes they cannot easily afford to leave and sitting on wealth they would rather not disturb. The usual options come with a catch. Selling means moving. Refinancing means giving up a low locked-in mortgage rate. According to Realtor.com, 51.5% of outstanding U.S. mortgages still carry rates at or below 4%. Taking out a home equity line of credit or home equity loan adds another monthly payment. Each option asks for something homeowners are trying to avoid. The open question is whether the standard options are still the only options. What used to look like a financial finish line is starting to look more like a treadmill.

Methodology

Unlock commissioned Atomik Research to conduct an online survey of 2,003 homeowners in the United States. The margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. Fieldwork was conducted from Jan. 24-30, 2026. Atomik Research, part of 4media group, is a creative market research agency.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

SOURCE:
Unlock

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(Feature Impact) The busy summer season can take you almost anywhere – baseball fields, backyard cookouts, long workdays or road trips across the country. Regardless of where you are, summer is a reminder that emergencies like cardiac arrest can happen anywhere.

More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States each year, and 90% of people will not survive, according to the American Heart Association, a nonprofit organization devoted to changing the future for a world of healthier lives for all. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen anytime, anywhere. People often hesitate to step in. In fact, nearly 2 out of 3 adults believe CPR can only be performed by medical professionals. This mistaken belief can cost lives and contributes to the low survival rate.

Ordinary people have extraordinary power. You don’t need to wear scrubs or have a medical background to save a life – you just need the courage to act.

Take the safety of those around you into your own hands this summer with this checklist.

Plan Ahead

Summer is often a time for welcome disruptions, including vacations, camps, sports and parties. Before traveling or attending events, check if your destination has a cardiac emergency response plan, which establishes specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in any setting, from schools and community organizations to workplaces and sports facilities.

Learn CPR

Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere: at home, at work, in schools, at a soccer game or on vacation. When it happens, the first chance for survival often rests with the people nearby.

Anyone can be the difference before professional help arrives. The power to save a life is in your hands. CPR is a human responsibility, not just a medical skill. When friends, family or even strangers step in during cardiac emergencies, survival rates can double or even triple.

Hands-Only CPR for adults consists of two easy steps:

• Call 9-1-1 or shout for someone else to call.
• Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that’s 100-120 beats per minute, such as “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.

Share Resources with Your Family and Community

Once you’ve learned simple, two-step Hands-Only CPR, share resources with your community to help expand the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers. Raising awareness with family, neighbors and colleagues can help people feel confident in the face of an emergency.

Families can watch short instructional videos that demonstrate the life-saving steps for adults as well as techniques for infants and children.

Travelers can also get trained in about 5 minutes with a Hands-Only CPR Kiosk, located in many airports and public spaces across the country.

To find more information about learning CPR, visit Heart.org/Nation.

Summer Safety Tips

In addition to learning CPR and sharing valuable resources with your family and community, consider these ways to keep yourself and loved ones safe throughout the summer months.

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• Stay Hydrated: High temperatures can quickly lead to dehydration and heat-related illness. Drink water regularly throughout the day, especially during outdoor activities, and pack extra water when away from home.
• Protect Your Skin: Hats, sunglasses and lightweight clothing can protect skin from sun exposure, but it’s important to use broad-spectrum sunscreen and reapply every 2 hours.
• Swim with a Buddy: Hopping in a pool, lake or ocean is a hallmark of summer but can be dangerous without precautions. Never swim alone and ensure children are always supervised by an adult near water.
• Identify the Locations of Safety Equipment: When attending camps, heading to a sporting event or enjoying the pool or beach, identify where lifeguards, AEDs and emergency exits are located. Knowing where to find help can save valuable time when every second counts.
• Practice Grill Safety: Some of your most memorable summer moments may happen during a backyard barbecue or cookout, and it’s important to keep those gatherings safe. Use grills away from homes, decks and dry grass. Never leave them unattended while cooking, and be sure kids and pets stay at a safe distance from hot surfaces.

Saving a Life Within 1 Year of Learning CPR

On a chilly Tuesday, dawn was breaking as Matthew Lynch reached his highway exit, but traffic was backed up at a particular intersection. He waited through three cycles before finally getting close enough to see the holdup: a stalled SUV.

While most cars buzzed by, Lynch moved slowly and peered into the vehicle. He saw people inside and parked his sedan, flipped on the hazard lights and ran to the stalled SUV. As he knocked on the driver’s window, there was no response. The doors were locked. Two people – a male driver and female passenger – were unresponsive.

Lynch ran back to his own car and called 9-1-1 before managing to open the driver’s side door. He discovered the driver was not breathing normally, signaling to Lynch he’d need to start CPR – which he’d learned 10 months earlier during a training session he’d helped organize for a work-sponsored men’s group.

Knowing he had to do something, Lynch started pushing hard and fast in the center of the man’s chest. Within a minute, the man gasped for breath.

Just as Lynch leaned over to see if he could help the female passenger, first responders arrived and Lynch backed away, knowing there was nothing more he could do.

“It was just a lot to take in,” said Lynch, a member of the American Heart Association’s 2026 Nation of Lifesavers Class, a small group of volunteers, dedicated to raising awareness of CPR by sharing their own personal stories of survival or rescue. “Mostly I felt an incredible sense of gratitude that I could help someone.”

A strong admirer of the Good Samaritan parable, Lynch is always on the lookout for the opportunity to help others. He learned a lot about himself in that moment and about the importance of learning CPR, along with the confidence that comes from knowing you could be a lifesaver.

“I quickly realized the certification was way less important than the actual CPR training,” he said. “Your ability to help in any capacity is better than doing nothing. If I hadn’t done that training, I probably would not have helped.”

SOURCE:

American Heart Association

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