• Photo: CorbisThe American Academy of Pediatrics has policy statements on pretty much anything you can think of—the role of recess in school, the timing of umbilical cord clamping, gay and lesbians as parents, you name it. But one topic it's avoided is home births, until today, when it (sort of) took an official position.

    The Academy said that, while it believes “the safest setting for a child’s birth is a hospital or birthing center,” it “recognizes that women and their families may desire a home birth for a variety of reasons.” It further notes that parents should be advised to work with midwives certified by the American Midwifery Certification Board, and that “All medical equipment, and the telephone, should be tested before the delivery, and the weather should be monitored.”

    Or, as the Daily Beast succinctly put it, the AAP basically said, “Ugh, fine.”

    When I gave birth to my daughter at home in October 2008 (for a variety of reasons I won’t go into here because I’m just not always up for that

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  • © iStockphoto

    By Leonora Desar for Parenting.com
    Could sleep-deprivation be causing your child to develop signs of ADHD? According to a new opinion piece in the New York Times, it just might play a role.

    Dr. Vatsal G. Thakkar, the author of the piece and a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine, began wondering if a lack of sleep could cause ADHD-like symptoms when treating an adult who complained of procrastination and forgetfulness. The patient, Dr. Thakkar discovered, did not have symptoms as a child, which ruled out a diagnosis of ADHD. His conclusion? The adult was sleep-deprived, which was causing him to forget things and lose his focus. When the patient began to get more sleep, his symptoms disappeared.

    Plus: 19 Celebrities With ADHD

    "I don't doubt that many people do, in fact, have ADHD; I regularly diagnose and treat it in adults," Dr. Thakkar writes. "But what if a substantial proportion of cases are really sleep disorders in

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  • Swaddling can be beneficial for babies -- as long as you do it correctly. (Photo: Getty Images)Two California caregivers were arraigned last week on child abuse charges for swaddling seven babies so tightly that the children had trouble breathing. Now parents around the country are wondering whether they could be harming their own children by trying the age-old calming technique.

    Also on Shine: Should I Stop Swaddling?

    Nazila Sharaf, 35, and Lida Sharaf, 33, are facing three counts of felony child abuse and neglect and four counts of misdemeanor child abuse and neglect. The babies they had swaddled were 7 months to 1 year old -- well beyond the age for which swaddling is recommended. They also tied the blankets with what the police described as "heavy-duty knots" rather than simply tucking and folding the cloth around the babies, making it nearly impossible for the children to move their arms and legs. And they occasionally threw blankets over the children's faces after they were were swaddled, increasing their risk of suffocation, police said.

    Social services discovered the

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  • I've mentioned before that I am the oldest of three girls (I also have two brothers). So, when I found that I was having a second girl, I was thrilled because I know first-hand what a joy having a sister usually is. In just the past three months, it's been delightful to watch my daughters become little friends. Ella is always the first to worry if Ani begins to cry, and no one is the focus of more interest to Ani than her big sister. Seeing them giggle together or Ella singing Ani a little song just makes my heart want to explode. I'm so happy they have each other.



    I've collected here a few of my favorite quotes about sisterhood - the good, the bad, and the funny! By Janssen Bradshaw



    MORE ON DISNEY BABY


    Show your children you love them: 15 simple ways!


    Baby's first year: 20 can't miss milestones


    5 reasons to look forward to motherhood


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  • 7 Mindful Mantras for Moms-to-be7 Mindful Mantras for Moms-to-beWith just 9 weeks to go in my pregnancy, the whole "I'm going to be a Mom!" reality has really started to kick in for me. When I'm not obsessively organizing the kitchen (again) or stocking up on onesies and diapers, sometimes that new mom reality hits me full force. It can be a little stressful during this home stretch as we scramble to get everything just-so for baby once he gets here. That's why it's important for me to slow down, relax and remember to breathe. Feeling stressed? Try repeating these these calming, mindful mantras for the mom-to-be.

    1. I am whole, I am perfect, I am strong.
    A mantra for any woman, this reminds me that my body was engineered to take on this momentous task of pregnancy and birth.

    2. One more day closer to holding you.
    When I start to feel like I've been pregnant forever, I remind myself that every day that passes is another day that brings me closer to meeting and holding my baby for the very first time.

    3. My belly is a thing of beauty!
    Sometimes I

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  • I consider myself fairly vigilant when it comes to monitoring June's media exposure. She watches the occasional Sesame Street, Caillou or Letter Factory DVDs but a story in The Atlantic yesterday about the sexing up of even Candy Land - Candy Land! - is a reminder that parents have to be careful about what sort of toys our kids plays with too. The classic child's board game is just the latest in a long list of examples of kids' toys in which the characters have become more sexualized, longer, leaner and sassier over time. At first glance, this may seem banal - so what if the 2013 version of Candy Land's Queen Frostine is a few pounds lighter than the 80s version? Well, it does matter-a lot, and there is ample research to back it up. Constant exposure to unrealistic beauty standards and hyper sexualized imagery is directly linked to low body satisfaction and diminished self esteem, according to body image expert Thomas F. Cash in his book Body Image: A Handbook of Science, Practice and

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  • When Mother's Day is Confusing

    By | Parenting – Mon, Apr 29, 2013 12:48 PM EDT

    By GalTime Teen Parenting Expert, Barbara Greenberg, PhD

    Is Mother's Day confusing for you?...Is Mother's Day confusing for you?...

    Happy Mother's Day to the BEST mother in the world! Mom, you made me the person that I am today. Mother you have given me everything and I can never repay you. These sentiments are echoed repeatedly in card after card year after year.

    Now, let me suggest a different Mother's Day scenario. Perhaps your relationship with your mom has been less than stellar and you just can't find the right card.

    You can't bring yourself to purchase one of the many beautiful and standard cards because the sentiment in the card does not accurately reflect the nature of your relationship with your mother.

    Related: When I Grow Up, I Want to Be Imperfect

    However, what if you saw one of the following five cards?

    1. Mom, you ignored me for years but I hope the day is happy anyway.

    2. Happy Mother's Day to a mom who favored my older sister.

    3. Let's celebrate today mom. Let's face it we never spend time together on any other day.

    4. Happy Mother's Day mom.

    Read More »

  • Niki Taylor, Supermom

    By | Parenting – Mon, Apr 29, 2013 10:34 AM EDT

    © Courtesy of Niki Taylor, March of DimesBy Leonora Desar

    When she was 21, Niki Taylor became the first supermodel to grace six magazine covers in just one month. Now, at 38, Taylor is a mom of four to identical twins Jake and Hunter, 18; Ciel, 4; and Rex, 17 months. She's also a philanthropist, and on April 27th she kicked off the March of Dimes' annual March for Babies in Miami. We caught up with the superstar mom to chat about motherhood, modeling and her proudest parenting moment.

    How did you get involved with the March of Dimes?
    Their mission is to improve the health of all babies, and I'm a mom of four healthy children. It's my responsibility now as a mom to help out in any way that I can.

    What's best parenting advice that you've ever received?
    I think it's a process -- there really is no book or guide. As soon as that baby is born all the books and everything kind of go out the window. Do you have any tips from your own experience with your kids? I think the biggest one is that I just love them. I'm always Read More »

  • © Veer

    By Leonora Desar

    Dawn Brahos, a 38-year old mom of three, says that she was mortified on a recent flight when a female American Airlines flight attendant forbade her from using a breast pump.

    Brahos says that the attendant called her a liar when the Indiana mom explained that she had been allowed to use her Medelabreast pump on two American Airlines flights the week before.

    Plus: Breastfeeding Controversy: Milk Sharing

    "I started it off being quiet and discreet, but the flight attendant wasn't discreet at all," Brahos told the Daily News. "She came back three times to my seat and was really loud about it. She was like, 'You absolutely cannot pump."

    "She was just dismissing any possibility of me resolving my situation," she added. "She got angry with me and then wasn't willing to give me her name."

    Brahos, who typically breast-feeds her 1-year old son Adrien, was on a rare trip alone with her husband. She says that she was dependent on the pump to maintain

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  • boy doing homeworkboy doing homework

    My kids want to move to France. They don't have any interest in French culture or French food, but they do like French President Francois Hollande's recent proposal to ban homework. While controversial, Hollande's position is not new. Waldorf Schools, for example, run on a no-homework concept. Even some of the schools in my school district have succumbed to parental pressure and eliminated homework for younger grades after parents argued that doing homework prevents their kids from participating in extra-curricular activities. It saddens me that education seems to be taking a backseat to sports, dance, and other activities. Many of my neighbors spend countless hours shuttling their kids to practices, games, and performances and then complain that they never have any time to rest. I'm not saying that we need to eliminate extra-curricular activities. My kids participate in sports, music, and scouts. These activities enrich their lives and teach them lessons that they may not learn in

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