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News on sleep, breastfeeding awareness, healthy eating, AP Month, and more!

Babies Learn Humor from Parents
Children get their sense of humor from their parents, as a study has found babies as young as six months learn to laugh at the same thing as their mothers and fathers.

Does Time Magazine Have, er... "Attachment Issues?"
Sooner or later, it had to happen. The parent-guilt monster is out of its cage: It has been awakened, and it is looking for someone to blame. How did this happen?

Calling Out to All AP Parents for Their Talents!

We're collecting items and services for our online fundraising auction in October.

Can you offer: one-of-a-kind items; autographed items; personalized unique experiences; unique collectables; autographed books; custom designed/made items; dining gift certificates; travel; time shares; entertainment tickets; health and beauty items; or professional, consulting, or coaching services?

Let us know if you can help a great cause benefiting children and families or if you just want more information. Your work will also benefit from event promotion to an international network of families and professionals. Thank you!

5 Out-of-the-Box Ways to Make Your Child ... LISTEN!
"One of the most frequent questions I get is, How do I get my child to listen to me? What lingers in the roots just beneath this question is, How do I get her to respect me? The two are intimately entwined."

Teen Behavior Problems Linked to Early Chronic Stress
Such behavior problems in adolescence as aggression and delinquency are linked to chronic stress in early childhood, which interferes with children's development of self-control.

Love API?
The blue haired API goddess says to support the organization you love by donating items to the API online auction. API can continue to support parents (and you get great deals!). Register here for a sneak peek and donate items!

Get Off Your Backs for a Birth Revolution!
If you gave birth recently, did you feel you had real freedom? Freedom to choose where you gave birth, who was present, what interventions took place and how you delivered your baby? Were you given access to all of the facts needed to make your choices truly informed? Who was the most powerful person in the room at the moment of birth? And did the experience leave you feeling exhilarated, disappointed, or downright traumatized?

Moms Rally for Better Births
Holly’s unexpected home birth "was a beautiful, empowering, adventurous day to say the least," she said. "There is something incredibly powerful in this, and if women can find their power in birth, we can change the world."

What Is the Evidence for Induction for Low Amniotic Fluid in a Healthy Pregnancy?
Question: "Low fluid seems to be the new 'big baby' for pushing for induction. What does the research say about low fluid at or near term? From what I’ve been able to see in research summaries at least, there appears to be no improved outcome for babies, but I’d love to see the research really hashed out. I’m also curious about causes of low fluid (theorized or known), risks of low fluid, and perhaps as important if not more so, measurements of low fluid."

Share Your Support Stories with Us!
Submit a blog post celebrating AP Month.
Selections will be displayed in October. Details here.

Breastfeeding May Protect Infants from HIV Transmission
An international team of researchers has found that certain bioactive components found in human milk are associated with a reduced risk of HIV transmission from an HIV infected mother to her breastfed infant.

A Quiet Place: 2012, Breastfeeding Awareness Year
While there's been a lot of consternation this year over the sometimes negative media coverage of breastfeeding, 2012 will be looked back on as the tipping point in breastfeeding advocacy.

Reducing Pressure on Children to Eat May Help Prevent Obesity
An educational program for parents helps to reduce pressure on children to eat - which may reduce the child's risk of obesity.

Obesity Might Lower Teens' Thinking Skills
As the childhood obesity epidemic continues in the United States, more kids are developing an array of heart risk factors linked to obesity known as the "metabolic syndrome." Now, a study suggests that these obesity-linked changes may be affecting kids' minds as well as their bodies.

API Now Offers FREE API Membership!
Check out what's included - including receiving great enewsletters and The Attached Family electronic magazine.

Fathers Biologically Attuned to Their Children When Sleeping Nearby
Mothers aren't the only ones who are biologically adapted to respond to children. New research shows that dads who sleep near their children experience a drop in testosterone. Previous research from humans and other species suggests this decrease might make men more responsive to their children's needs and help them focus on the demands of parenthood.

Decoding the Science of Sleep
In today's always-on economy, we're tired like never before. Caffeine and sleeping pills only do so much. How did we get this far away from our most basic, ancient habits? And how can we get back on track?

High School Daze: The Perils of Sacrificing Sleep for Late-Night Studying
High school students with heavy academic course loads often find the demands of homework colliding with the need for adequate sleep. And a new study finds that when teens don't get the sleep they need on a given night, the next day all kinds of things can go poorly.

SIDS Risk Reduction and Infant Sleep Location: Moving the Discussion Forward
The notion that infant sleep environments are "good" or "bad" and that parents who receive appropriate instruction will modify their infant-care habits has been fundamental to SIDS reduction campaigns. However, infant sleep location recommendations have failed to emulate the previously successful infant sleep position campaigns that dramatically reduced infant deaths.

Available Now! The Attached Family: "Caring for Our Children" Issue
Access your copy today with your API Membership. Members click here (use login information provided in your email notice, or visit the API Member Forum). Not a member? Join today. It's free.

Ban Spanking Outright, CMA Journal Urges
Canada’s most prestigious medical journal is calling on parents, lawmakers, and doctors to put an end to the practice of spanking children.

Free but Not Cheap
"Jessica Valenti just wrote a new book called Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness, and wrote a piece for Babble summarizing her main argument in the book, which is that we keep saying 'Motherhood is the most important job in the world,' but at the same time we undervalue it enormously. She buries what I think is the most important point in the last paragraph of the Babble piece, which is that motherhood isn't a job, it's a relationship."

Children Succeed with Character, Not Test Scores
A child's success can't be measured in IQ scores, standardized tests, or vocabulary quizzes, says author Paul Tough. Success, he argues, is about how young people build character.

Delayed Development: 20-Somethings Blame the Brain
Many parents of 20-somethings worry that their offspring haven't yet found a career path, gotten married, or become financially independent. These parents should chill out, experts say.

Half of Teens Couldn’t Live Without Their Phone for a Week
Teens may seem inseparable from their cellphones, but just how addicted are they?

Report Shows Violence in Movies, Games Can Trigger Aggressive Thoughts and Feelings
"My hope is that (the report) will inspire some parent groups and education groups to redouble their efforts to help educate parents about the importance of looking at the amount of media violence that's in their children's diets," a researcher said.

The Mindset List
This year's entering college class of 2016 was born into cyberspace, and they have therefore measured their output in the fundamental particles of life: bits, bytes, and bauds. They have come to political consciousness during a time of increasing doubts about America's future and are entering college bombarded by questions about jobs and the value of a college degree. They have never needed an actual airline "ticket," a set of bound encyclopedias, or Romper Room. Members of this year's freshman class, most of them born in 1994, are probably the most tribal generation in history and they despise being separated from contact with friends. They prefer to watch television everywhere except on a television, have seen a woman lead the U.S. State Department for most of their lives, and can carry school books - those that are not on their e-readers - in backpacks that roll.