american academy of pediatrics american academy of pediatrics the american academy of pediatrics (aap) is the largest professional association of pediatricians in the us. it is headquartered in dupage county, illinois, and maintains an office in washington, d.c. the aap has published hundreds of policy statements, ranging from advocacy issues to practice recommendations. notable positions advocated by the aap include abortion access for teenagers, a minimum purchasing age of 21 years for tobacco products, background checks, an assault weapons ban, more federal research on gun violence, and favorable statements on circumcision and forms of gender-affirming care. american academy of pediatricsformation1930 (1930)typeprofessional associationheadquartersdupage county, illinois, united statescoordinates42.0366°n 87.9827°w﻿ / 42.0366; -87.9827membership 67,000official language englishaap presidentlee beers, md, faapstaff 390websiteaap.org background the academy was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. as of 2022, it has 67,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas. qualified pediatricians can become fellows (faap). the academy runs continuing medical education (cme) programs for pediatricians and sub-specialists. the academy is divided into 14 departments and 26 divisions. publications it has the largest pediatric publishing program in the world, with more than 300 titles for consumers and over 500 titles for physicians and other healthcare professionals. these publications include electronic products, professional references, medical textbooks, practice management publications, patient education materials, and parenting books.the aap news is the academy's official news magazine, and pediatrics is its flagship journal. the aap issues a weekly report on covid-19 cases in the united states. states began reporting covid-19 cases on september 17, 2020. the aap tracked 587,948 child covid-19 cases, 5,016 child hospitalizations, and 109 child deaths. the julius b. richmond center in 2006, the academy received a grant from the flight attendant medical research institute (famri) to plan and establish a center of excellence dedicated to the elimination of children's exposure to tobacco and secondhand smoke. the richmond center was established to help institutionalize pediatric tobacco control activities at aap and was named in honor of julius b. richmond, md, chair of the famri medical advisory board and former surgeon general of the united states public health service. the center provides the education, training, and tools needed to protect children from tobacco and secondhand smoke. policy positions the academy has published hundreds of policy statements, ranging from advocacy issues to practice recommendations. the academy's policy website contains all current academy policies and clinical reports. the aap policy regarding its statements is to give each statement a five-year life, after which the statement expires unless it is reaffirmed. abortion the aap is supportive of abortion rights and criticized the overturning of roe v. wade. in june 2022, they stated that adolescents "should have the right to receive legal and confidential medical and surgical abortion care and counseling" and that " means that in many places in the united states, this evidence-based care will be difficult or impossible to access, threatening the health and safety of our patients and jeopardizing the patient-physician relationship". age limit the aap has changed positions on its age limit throughout the years. in 1988, the american academy of pediatrics published a statement on the age limit of pediatrics that identified the upper age limit of pediatrics as age 21. the policy had a note that exceptions could always be made when the doctor and family jointly agree to an older age. recent studies have shown that the age of 21 years is just an arbitrary line for adolescence, because brain development does not fully reach adult levels of functioning until the early 30s. in a 2017 policy update, aap changed its policy to discourage age limits of pediatric providers and instead have families reach an agreement with their pediatric provider as to when to transition care. asthma in 2009, the national office and four of its state chapters provided training support to 49 pediatric practices to improve adherence to well-established asthma care guidelines. the percentage of patients at participating practices with well-controlled asthma (as defined by the national heart, lung, and blood institute) rose from 58 to 72 percent. car safety seats in 2018, the aap began recommending that children be placed in rear-facing car seats until the child reached the maximum height or weight for the car seat, regardless of the child's age. the aap periodically issues guidance for child passenger safety, including policy recommendations for transitioning between rear-facing car seats, front-facing car seats, belt-positioning booster seats, and vehicle safety belts. these recommendations are typically published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal pediatrics, and tend to attract attention and controversy in popular press and social media. previously, the aap recommended that children remain rear-facing until they are two years of age. in response to updated crash test, simulation, and field data, the aap revised their guidance to exclude the age guideline entirely. current aap child passenger safety recommendations (as of august 30, 2018) state that children should remain in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible, until they meet the maximum height or weight dictated by the car seat manufacturer. the full recommendations state that: infants, toddlers and children should remain rear-facing as long as possible. currently available car seats provide weight and height limits that allow children to be rear-facing beyond their second birthday. once children are transitioned to forward-facing, they should use a car safety seat equipped with a 5-point harness for as long as the manufacturer recommends (i.e., until they reach the manufacturer's weight or height limit). currently available convertible car seats and combination car seats support the use of a 5-point harness until a child is 65 pounds (29 kg) or more. once children are transitioned to a belt-positioning booster car seat, they should continue to use the booster until the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt fit properly, which typically occurs when a child is over 4 feet 8 inches (142 cm) tall, and approximately 8–12 years of age. once children are transitioned to the vehicle's lap and shoulder seat belt, they should always use the vehicle's seat belt to maximize protection in the event of an accident. children under 13 years of age should be seated in the rear passenger seat (not the front seat) to maximize protection in the event of an accident. covid schooling in person on june 29, 2020, aap stated that it "strongly advocates that all policy considerations for the coming school year should start with a goal of having students physically present in school" as remote learning during the covid-19 pandemic in the united states made it more difficult for education professionals to notice learning deficits, physical and sexual abuse, depression and suicidal ideation. the aap argued that masks are probably not practical for children younger than middle school unless they can wear a mask without increased face touching. teachers' unions opposed the aap statement, however, saying "our educators are overwhelmingly not comfortable returning to schools ... they fear for their lives, the lives of their students and the lives of their families." two weeks later, the aap walked back its support, under political pressure from teachers and other groups. the then-president donald trump cited aap's original statement repeatedly, pressuring school leaders to reopen schools. digital advertising to children in its 2020 statement in pediatrics, the aap called for banning all digital advertising that was targeted to children under the age of 7 and urged limits to advertising aimed at people under 17. elective infant circumcision