Despite a major decrease in the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its recommendation in 1992 that infants be placed for sleep in a nonprone position, this decline has plateaued in recent years. Concurrently, other causes of sudden unexpected infant death that occur during sleep (sleep-related deaths), including suffocation, asphyxia, and entrapment, and ill-defined or unspecified causes of death have increased in incidence, particularly since the AAP published its last statement on SIDS in 2005. The AAP, therefore, is expanding its recommendations from focusing only on SIDS to focusing on a safe sleep environment that can reduce the risk of all sleep-related infant deaths, including SIDS.
A new analysis using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), a nationally-representative sample of children entering kindergarten in 1998, found that the local cost of living is correlated with child development outcomes. Higher cost of living was related to lower academic achievement in first grade, even after controlling for family income and a comprehensive set of social and demographic variables. This effect was found only for families with incomes below 300% of the federal poverty threshold (i.e., below $66,339 for a family of four). It may be that families with higher incomes are not as sensitive to geographic variations in cost of living.
ZERO TO THREE's podcast series, Little Kids, Big Questions, addresses some of the most common (and challenging) issues facing parents of babies and toddlers, such as: helping a baby learn to sleep through the night; dealing with a picky eater; and learning to set limits on children's behavior. Each of the 12 podcasts in this series features an interview with an expert that focuses on how to apply the research of early childhood development to daily interactions with babies and toddlers. Little Kids, Big Questions is hosted by Ann Pleshette Murphy, a past contributor to ABC's Good Morning America Parenting Segment and author of several parenting books.
"Building Infrastructure to Support Home Visiting to Prevent Child Maltreatment: Two-Year Findings from the Cross-Site Evaluation of the Supporting Evidence-Based Home Visiting Initiative."This report describes planning and early implementation of home visiting programs in 15 states. The programs and report were funded by the Children's Bureau at the Administration for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The report describes the grantees, the home visiting program models they selected, and their progress and challenges. It should be of special interest to states and home visiting providers participating in the new Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting grant programs authorized by the Affordable Care Act and now being implemented in states.
The world lost a brilliant human being recently, Steve Jobs. This 2005 Stanford University address by Jobs, with over 11 million views, is a classic. A college drop-out, he then "dropped in" on classes which changed his life and started his career as an entrepreneur and the rest is history. Incredibly, the one calligraphy course he dropped in on formed the basis for the Apple Macintosh's typefaces and fonts. From his birth as a child of an unwed graduate student, to the day he was fired from the company he founded, to contemplating his mortality - it was an extraordinary life. And this is an extraordinary video.
This book, which can be downloaded free of charge, is a comprehensive overview of the physical and mental heath needs, relationships with adult children, and social issues of our population over age 50. It is edited by award winning writer Gloria Hochman. (SaraKay Smullens, CFLE, wrote the chapter on Friendship.)
This book shows the importance of dignity, a combination of pride and humility, in surviving loss, injustice, betrayal, and life's unfairness. It shows that the state of dignity begins with love.
This website includes up-to-date information on major aspects of adolescent health, including physical and mental health, substance abuse, sexual behavior, pregnancy prevention, and healthy relationships. The website provides both new information and existing federal resources geared to meet the adolescent health information needs of diverse stakeholders.
Karen Guzzo
Assistant Professor, Bowling Green State University
Ph.D., University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, 2003
Karen Benjamin Guzzo received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina in 2003 and did postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the faculty at Bowling Green in fall 2011. Trained as a family demographer and sociologist, most of her work examines what are considered "nontraditional" family behaviors. One line of research examines unintended fertility, looking at trends over time as well as the antecedents and consequences of unplanned births. A related line of work looks at nonmarital childbearing and multipartnered fertility, where individuals have children by different partners. Dr. Guzzo also studies trends in cohabitation, which has become increasingly common in the United States but decreasingly likely to lead to marriage even as more cohabiting couples are raising children. Finally, she is interested in parenting attitudes and behaviors, particularly among fathers.
