ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 8, 2026--
Bedtime isn’t always the peaceful wind-down parents hope for. Nearly 70% of parents of children 2 to 6 years old say their child’s bedtime routine is at least somewhat stressful, according to new Carter’s research. From getting ready for bed and turning out the lights to staying in bed and falling asleep, parents say challenges can show up throughout the nightly routine.
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In their effort to “make bedtime the best time” Carter’s is launching Not-So-Scary Monsters, a new sleepwear collection introducing families to some friendly helpers as they wind down for the night.
With the guidance of Carter’s Official Sleep Consultant, Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, and a cast of playful monster characters, the brand pairs trusted sleep expertise with imaginative play to help families navigate everything from brushing teeth to sweet dreams.
Each Not-So-Scary Monster has a job to do. Miss Squigz helps kids get out that last burst of energy before winding down, while six-legged Skooter knows a thing or two about getting wiggly kids into pajamas. Bartholomew Theodore Thornhill III is the resident hygiene hero, and twins Carrot and Cake help kids remember which bedtime steps come next.
The new pals even lend a hand with one of the most tried-and-true bedtime rituals: checking under the bed for monsters. A new Monster Room Scanner in the Carter’s app lets kids, with a parent’s permission, scan their bedroom for “scary monsters,” only to discover their friendly Not-So-Scary Monster bedtime buddies instead.
“For generations, families have trusted Carter’s to get their little ones cozy and ready for bed, but we know pajamas are just one part of the nightly routine,” said Sarah Crockett, Chief Marketing Officer at Carter’s. “Not-So-Scary Monsters lets us show up for more of those moments, giving kids something to look forward to at bedtime and parents a little more support along the way.”
As Carter’s Official Sleep Consultant for this campaign, Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown, MD, a triple-board-certified sleep medicine physician and nationally recognized pediatric sleep expert, will provide practical guidance around children’s sleep, bedtime routines, and nighttime anxiety.
“For young children, a predictable bedtime routine can provide important cues that it’s time to slow down and prepare for sleep,” said Dr. Brown. “The goal doesn’t have to be a perfect bedtime routine. Simple, consistent steps, paired with a little play and imagination, can help kids feel more engaged in the process and make the transition to sleep feel more manageable for the whole family.”
The Not-So-Scary Monsters collection features sleepwear and playwear in Carter’s signature styles and fabrics, with looks for every stage from baby to big kid. Pricing starts at $7 for baby and goes up to $28 for kids.
The Not-So-Scary Monsters collection and the best of Carter’s PJs are available starting September 10 at Carter’s stores and online at carters.com.
Survey Methodology
The survey was conducted among 504 parents of children 2 to 6 years old.
About Carter’s
Carter’s, Inc. is North America’s largest and most-enduring apparel company exclusively for babies and young children. The Company’s core brands are Carter’s and OshKosh B’gosh, iconic and among the sector’s most trusted names. These brands are sold through more than 1,000 Company-operated stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and online at www.carters.com, www.oshkosh.com, www.cartersoshkosh.ca, and www.carters.com.mx. Carter’s also is the largest supplier of baby and young children’s apparel to North America’s biggest retailers. The Company’s Child of Mine brand is available exclusively at Walmart, its Just One You brand is available at Target, and its Simple Joys brand is available on Amazon.com. The Company’s emerging brands include Little Planet, crafted with organic fabrics and sustainable materials, Otter Avenue, a toddler-focused apparel brand, and Skip Hop, baby essentials from tubs to toys. Carter’s is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Additional information may be found at www.carters.com.
About Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown
Dr. Funke Afolabi-Brown is a triple board-certified physician in Pediatrics, Pediatric Pulmonology, and Sleep Medicine and founder of The Restful Sleep Place, a family-centered sleep practice providing evidence-based care for children and adults. She completed her sleep medicine training at the University of Pennsylvania and previously served as faculty at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A Fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Dr. Brown is also the bestselling author of Beyond Tired: A Sleep Physician’s Guide to Solving Your Child’s Sleep Problems for Good and a nationally recognized speaker on pediatric sleep health as well as sleep for the entire family.
A child laughs wearing the DreamPlush Footed Pajama from Carter's latest Not-So-Scary Monsters collection.
BRUSSELS (AP) — The stunning victory of the Alternative for Germany in a state election has renewed fears of an ascendant far right in Europe, as voters repeatedly vent discontent and mainstream leaders grapple with myriad crises, from affordability to Russian aggression and scraps with China and the United States over trade.
But while anti-immigrant, pro-Russian parties have made inroads across the continent in recent years, there have also been notable reversals, and some have softened their views to build coalitions with moderates.
The AfD fell short of an absolute majority in Sunday’s vote in Saxony-Anhalt that would have allowed it to form the first far-right state government since the Nazi era — though it may still manage to do so.
Far-right leaders from Portugal to Austria celebrated the win as they ready for elections across Europe in the coming months. These will show whether the vote was a watershed moment in the demise of an anti-fascist consensus dating back to World War II, or the latest in a series of elections worldwide in which frustrated voters simply cast out incumbents.
The far right's biggest success in recent years was the rise of Giorgia Meloni, who became prime minister of Italy, one of Europe's most influential countries, at the helm of a party with neo-fascist roots.
But Meloni, who campaigned as an EU-skeptic, took a moderate turn in office that has won praise from across the continent and led to her presiding over the most stable government in decades. She now faces a challenge from the right, in the form of an upstart party led by a retired general.
Far-right parties have meanwhile joined governments and gained key portfolios in Finland, Croatia and Slovakia.
Populist anti-immigrant parties also made major gains in the 2024 elections for the European Union parliament, reflecting their growing support across the 27-nation bloc.
Since then, the center-right European People's Party has increasingly coordinated with the far right, as it did earlier this year in embarking on a historic migration overhaul that incensed traditional allies on the center left and human rights groups.
“It’s a bit of a paradox: you partner up with them to prevent them from getting more powerful,” said Sophia Russack, a fellow at the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies.
For 16 years, Hungary's Viktor Orbán was the standard-bearer of the far right in Europe and an inspiration for populists worldwide. But he lost in a landslide in April to a former ally who had campaigned against corruption.
In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders, another far-right celebrity, broke up a coalition he had helped form when his allies refused to go along with his far-reaching crackdown on immigration.
The far-right, anti-immigration Reform UK party has grown in influence in the United Kingdom in recent years and was the big winner in local elections in May, a result that helped spur a panicky Labour Party to replace then-leader Keir Starmer with new Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Though it holds just eight of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, Reform has often led opinion polls and dominated political debates on immigration. Led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage, the party has been particularly successful in areas that supported Brexit in 2016.
But Reform has recently suffered reverses, losing several special elections and facing questions about funding.
Electoral setbacks, however, send “a double-edged message,” said Jeremy Cliffe, editorial director of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
“These parties are mortal, they can be defeated, but when they’re in power, they’re not all chaotic and hopeless.”
Next year's elections in France and Spain present major opportunities for the far right to resume its march across the continent — or stumble, said Lisa Musiol, head of EU Affairs for the International Crisis Group.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, revered by the global left for his stance on migration and the wars in Gaza and Iran, has faced mass protests over the Ceuta border crisis.
The far-right, anti-immigrant Vox party, which holds just 32 seats in the country's 350-member parliament, is poised to gain. It has already entered into governing agreements with the center-right Popular Party, parliament's second biggest faction, in four regional elections.
Sánchez said Monday that the AfD win should be “a warning that the far-right threat is gaining ground in Europe and the world,” and that “a progressive coalition government is more necessary than ever.”
In France, the far-right leader Marine Le Pen is the front-runner to replace the increasingly unpopular President Emmanuel Macron, who is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. She has long been hostile toward the EU and immigration.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, whose center-right party is among a crowded field running against Le Pen's National Rally, decried the Germany vote as a victory for “the neo-Nazi, anti-European and pro-Putin far right.”
“We urgently need to open our eyes to the despair that is propelling such ideas and such parties to power,” he said in a post online. “It can be done, but this is our last chance.”
This version corrects that Saxony-Anhalt was not the first win for AfD, but its largest to date.
The flag of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) waves on the weekend of the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt in an allotment garden in Stendal, Germany, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Ulrich Siegmund, top candidate for the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) party and his wife Julia leaving a polling station on a small Schwalbe motorcycle after voting during the Saxony-Anhalt state elections in Tangermuende, eastern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Party members celebrate with a sign of AfD top candidate Ulrich Siegmund after the first results at an election party of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) after the Saxony-Anhalt state elections in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Top candidate Ulrich Siegmund speaks at an election party of the "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) after the Saxony-Anhalt state elections in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Co-leader of Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, Alice Weidel, arrives for a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
