Professionals incorporating Attachment Parenting in their work engage in one of the most effective and empowering prevention strategies possible: Nurturing families and communities by building strong connections between parents and their children.
Concern about an emerging generation of children who are increasingly aggressive, depressed, manipulative, and nonresilient increases the urgency of our efforts and our collaboration. Already these children are part of a growing population of emotionally and behaviorally troubled youth. Studies have shown that the major contributing factor to problem behaviors is a lack of secure and healthy attachment to a parent or other adult primary caregiver.
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Attachment Parenting International (API) analyzes and disseminates the work of researchers in psychology, child development, and brain science who have studied and applied the behaviors and outcomes of attachment theory for more than 60 years. API applies this knowledge to parenting practices, helping professionals serve parents and helping parents regain trust in their intuition when it comes to raising their children.
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Partner with API
API membership is a community built on the connected relationships that you value. Consider being a part of an organization working with parents every day.
We want to support your efforts to help parents and other professionals understand the importance and benefits of Attachment Parenting, so we offer:
- Free API Membership, that includes API's interactive Journal of Attachment Parenting and the periodic Professional Update enews when you select "Professional serving families" at sign up.
- API Professional Associate Membership that helps you promote and educate about Attachment Parenting in your work.
- Connection with other API Professional Associates
- Connection to local API Support Groups
And current information on parenting research and articles
Studies and Research
"Baby Training," "Cry it out" (CIO), or Extinction
- Recent Study Finds that Controlled-Crying Causes No Apparent Long-term Harm
- API Position Paper on new AAP Recommendations - October 10, 2005
- IMPACT OF SLEEP TRAINING AND CRY IT OUT
- Cry It Out: The Potential Dangers of Leaving Your Baby to Cry
- Dangers of "Crying It Out": Damaging children and their relationships for the long term
- Crying and Comforting
- API Research Group Position Paper on Infant Sleep Safety
Infant Sleep Environment
- THE SCIENCE OF MOTHER-INFANT SLEEP
- Cosleeping and Biological Imperatives: Why Human Babies Do Not and Should Not Sleep Alone - James J. McKenna Ph.D.
- Why babies should never sleep alone: A review of the co-sleeping controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing and breast feeding (PDF) - James J. McKenna and Thomas McDade
- Nighttime fears in children: A guide for the science-minded parent - Parenting Science
- More Than Monsters: Could Your Child Have Night Blindness? - iParenting
- Children 'should sleep with parents until they're five' - Times Online
- API Research Group Position Paper on Infant Sleep Safety
- API and Research Community Find Anti-Bedsharing Recommendations Unsupported
Attachment Parenting
- API Researchers Group responds to American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) Task Force Report in the February issue of the journal of Child Maltreatment
- API Study Summary Report (April 2004)
Additional Resources
For more information on Attachment Parenting, please review the API Recommended Reads.
