API Links - October 2011

API Links you to...

News on moms, dads, teens, and PLAY!

AP Month is Here! Check Out the AP Month Events and Resources--only this month!
Join us as we celebrate, lift up, and be Families at Play! More information is available below on a special teleseminar on play, membership special, the daily calendar of tips, discounts and promotions, and photo and blog events.

A Mother’s Love May Keep the Doctor Away
An extra dose of motherly nurturing insulates children from lifelong health problems associated with poverty.

Independence Requires Attachment
More than anything in the world, children need to be deeply attached to their parents to grow into independent, responsible, and mature human beings. When kids feel like they can always count on their mom and dad to protect them, care for them, and guide them when the going gets too tough for them to manage on their own, their nervous systems become deeply relaxed and growth unfolds optimally out of this state of rest.

How Devoted Moms Buffer Kids in Poverty
Children raised in poverty often grow up to have poor health in adulthood, from frequent colds to heart disease. But there's one thing that might buffer them from that fate: a good mom.

Children's Right to Play
An examination of the importance of play in the lives of children worldwide.

Learning through Unstructured Play Helps Kids Develop
Roughhousing, or tossing your children around on purpose, can be a hard sell to many parents. We worry our kids will get hurt. We don't want rowdy behavior carrying over into the classroom, especially in schools with no-touching policies. And many of us aren't really even sure how to physically interact with our kids.

When Play Is Not Good...
Are Japan's hikikomori and depression in young people spreading abroad?

How Neighborhood Poverty Influences Maternal Fear of Children's Outdoor Play
Neighborhood poverty is likely to make a mother more fearful about letting her children play outdoors. "It's no secret that children play outdoors less now than in recent decades, and research shows maternal fear as one reason why." 

Education World Loses Human-Development Visionary
Dr. Peter L. Benson, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based
Search Institute, died Sunday, Oct. 2, after a year-long fight with cancer. Dr. Benson's international reputation in human development emerged in the 1990s through his innovative, research-based framework of the 40 Developmental Assets, which became the driving force behind the creation of America's Promise Alliance's Five Promises.

Dr. Benson's work wove together rigorous scholarship with a passionate commitment to understanding-and influencing-society to be more attentive to children, youth, and families.
Maybe he'll ask Steve Jobs to design a heavenly app that finds the most worthy non-profits in the field of child development/prevention and send a showering flood of resources our way.

One World Birth
One World Birth is a free online video resource for birth professionals, activists, and parents who want to keep their finger on the pulse of birth around the globe today. The world's birth experts discuss the latest thinking & research in short, bite-sized video clips that are based around a central theme each month.

Placenta: Organ of Change
New respect for the spongy, blobby, short-lived placenta: Acts as much more than a passive conduit, shapes the development of the fetus, provides information science can't get anywhere else.

API Reads
Have you been reading from your own copy of the book No-Cry Separation Anxiety Solution? It contains some wonderful ideas you might never thought of. Some common situations that she discusses in her book: not being able to leave the room, when your child resists a babysitter, going on an adult vacation, sleepovers, and more.

Want an example? Allow your baby that dreamy alone time when they wake-up instead of immediately going to them right away. Or switching from one caretaker to another while baby/child is happily playing on the floor engaged, instead of in arms.

We do hope you continue to read No-Cry Separation Anxiety Solution. 

Breastfeeding Report Card—United States, 2011
The Breastfeeding Report Card, now in its fifth year, provides perspectives on state and national trends in breastfeeding data.

API LIVE:
"If Play's Our Natural Way, What Gets in the Way?"
Exploring our parental fear of play and how to restore and cultivate wellbeing, reconnection, and playfulness in ourselves for healthy relationships.
Featuring Lu Hanessian
Monday, October 24th
9:00 pm EST/6:00 pm PST

Involved Dads Give Kids an Edge
Compared with children with absentee fathers, children whose fathers were present and actively involved in their lives during early and middle childhood had fewer behavior problems and higher intellectual abilities as they grew older, even among children of lower socioeconomic status.

AP Month Is a Special Time of Year for API
It's our month for a great auction, great donations, and a great membership special! This year the theme is play. To play along with API, play with your family and friends by splitting a membership or buying a great gift.

That's right, it's our 2-for-1 special! Buy two memberships for the price of one! That's the equivalent of one free movie ticket or two cups of coffee! Don't let this special pass you by. 

Sleepy Teens More Likely to Have Risky Behavior
Most teens don't get enough sleep, putting them at greater risk for a slew of unhealthy behaviors, from physical inactivity to fighting.

Early Bedtime, Early Rising Keeps Teens Fit
Going to bed early and rising early could be a principal factor in combating obesity and enhancing overall fitness for teens. 

Baylor University on Stress and Coping Strategies
A doctoral student is looking for parents of children ages 5-12 in three categories:    
1. Parents of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder  
2. Parents of children with Type 1 Diabetes  
3. Parents of children with no diagnoses    
Data is collected via an online survey, which takes 30-45 minutes to complete. People who complete the survey can participate in a drawing for one of three $50 giftcards to Amazon.com. Any questions, contact Crystal Lee, M.S. at Crystal_Lee1@Baylor.edu.

Seeking Stories for Online Book about Contemporary Parenting
TheParentduJour.com seeks 365 moms and dads to add their stories to this online project. Contact publisher Lisa Duggan atliduggan65@yahoo.com for details.

Let's Not Sling Off at a Parenting Option That Does Work
Babies should be closely monitored - but that applies to everything.

Recession Tied to Rise in Child Abuse Injuries
The incidence of "shaken baby syndrome" and other head trauma almost doubled, study found. "So, is there anything that can be done to reduce economic hard times' impact on the health of children? Berger believes that education and more support for struggling families may help put a dent in the troubling statistics she's seen."

Bill Banning Corporal Punishment in Schools to Be Introduced in Congress
"There are two Americas out there for young students right now – one where they go to school knowing that they’ll be guided positively by caring adults, and one where they live in constant fear of getting beaten," said Rep. McCarthy, a member of the Committee on Education and Workforce.  "Bullying is enough of a problem among students; the teachers shouldn’t be doing it, too.  There’s nothing positive or productive about corporal punishment and it should be discouraged everywhere." Read about the Bill here.

Cycle of "Compulsive Consumerism" Leaves British Family Life in Crisis
British parents are trapping their children in a cycle of "compulsive consumerism" by showering them with toys and designer labels instead of spending quality time with them, a Unicef study has found.

Erosion of Childhood: Letter with Full List of Signatories
Wow! Look at some of these signatories (e.g., Peggy O'Mara, Michael Odent). Here's the full letter from more than 200 experts about how childhood is being eroded by a "relentless diet" of advertising and addictive computer games.

The Rising Cost of Raising a Child
Forget designer strollers and organic baby formula, just providing a child with the basics has become more than most parents can afford.