Parenting

Benefits Aim to Recruit and Retain Competitive Workforce

June 4, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) today joined Representative Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) and interested groups representing 2.7 million government employees in support of The Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act (FEPPLA), H.R. 626, which would provide federal employees with four weeks of paid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child.

The bill will be debated and voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives today. On January 30, 2009, Senator Webb re-introduced the Senate version of the legislation, S.354, and currently has 16 cosponsors, including Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Senator Joe Lieberman.    » read more »

Obama Administration Takes First Step To Repeal Rule That Limits The Rights Of Patients To Receive Complete And Accurate Health Information And Services

Feb. 27, 2009 -- Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) applauds the Obama administration for taking the first step in rescinding a midnight regulation that undermines the country’s fragile health care system as well as patients’ access to health care information and services.    » read more »

January 26, 2009 -- When parents have access to proven parenting information and support designed to address problems all families face—from tantrums to encouraging good behavior—key measures of child maltreatment fall, according to a study released in the Jan. 26 online edition of the journal Prevention Science.

The study, which was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found lower rates of confirmed abuse cases, child out–of–home placements, and hospitalizations and emergency room visits for child injuries in counties where parenting support was implemented.    » read more »

June 23, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Barack Obama today announced his cosponsorship of the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act of 2008 (S. 3140), which would allow federal employees to use four weeks of paid leave, as well as any annual or sick leave, for the birth or adoption of a child under the Family and Medical Leave Act. This bill was introduced by Senator Jim Webb.    » read more »

October 30, 2007 -- Jefferson City, Mo. — November is National Adoption Month, and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is offering a resource for parents considering adoption. His office recently released a brochure called “Welcome Home,” which explains the legal process in Missouri as it relates to domestic, foster, stepparent and international adoption.    » read more »

2007-09-04 -- Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch today issued the following statement regarding SmartLimits for Wireless, a new web-based parental control feature for wireless service that AT&T is offering to its customers. The safety feature allows parents to block calls and text messages to and from numbers they don't approve, filter access to inappropriate Internet content, and teach their children to use their cell phones more responsibly.    » read more »

Smoking shortens nap time of breastfed babies

PHILADELPHIA, September 4, 2007 -- A study from the Monell Chemical Senses Center reports that nicotine in the breast milk of lactating mothers who smoke cigarettes disrupts their infants' sleep patterns.

“Infants spent less time sleeping overall and woke up from naps sooner when their mothers smoked prior to breastfeeding,” says lead author Julie A. Mennella, PhD, a psychobiologist at Monell.    » read more »