Attachment Parenting

Before I became a mum I'd never heard of attachment parenting and it was only after my third child was born that I realised I'd instinctively been practising much of what was involved in it!

So what is attachment parenting?

Well, according to Attachment Parenting International there are eight principles which you can read in detail here. But basically these boil down to the following:

• Preparing for pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding
• Feeding you child with love and respect
• Responding to your children sensitively
• Using nurturing touch such as baby massage, using a sling
• Engaging in night-time parenting
• Providing consistent and loving care
• Practicing positive discipline
• Striving for balance in Personal and Family Life

To me the above principles always made sense - although I won't say I've always got it completely right... There's an awful lot of learning involved in parenting - the support of other parents and peers is often crucial to getting it right.

So, for all you mothers who are currently attachment parenting (whether or not you realise it!) or who want to know more about it, here's some interesting news for you...

Attachment Parenting International (API), a non-profit organization that promotes parenting practices that create strong, healthy emotional bonds between children and their parents, has several exciting changes they would like to announce, including:

• A newly redesigned web site and new logo at Attachment Parenting.org;
• Attachment parenting worldwide support forums;
• Parent Education Program - a comprehensive series of classes for every stage and age of child development from infancy through adulthood;
• A new book based on API's Eight Principles of Attachment Parenting by API co-founders Lysa Parker and Barbara Nicholson which is expected to be available this summer;
• A series of podcasts, webinars, chats, and forums with API Advisory Board members and other supporters of AP. Future events are scheduled with Dr. Bob Sears, Dr. James McKenna, and Kathleen Kendall Tacket. Check out the events page for more information.

These are just a few of many exciting things going on at API. I hope you'll stop by and check it out for yourself.

Comments

[Crunchy Domestic Goddess]

Thanks so much for posting about this. Let me know if you would like to be considered for writing for API's new upcoming blog. I sent you an email but I'm not sure if you got it.
Thanks, Sinead. :)
Amy