"As an API Leader, I frequently give parents guidance on ways to respond to their children in different situations. But the truth is, I don’t always follow my own advice. As all parents know, it’s one thing to be removed from a situation and think about solutions rationally; it’s quite another to deal with a public tantrum or a kid who won’t go to bed when you are exhausted and frustrated. That’s why it’s important to have tools at your disposal to cope with these situations before they arise." Alexis Schrader, API Leader

“There will be days when nothing you do feels like enough. There will be days when smiles don’t come easily and harsh words are spoken too quickly. On those days, I urge you not to say things like, ‘I am a failure,’ or ‘I can’t do anything right.’ Instead, I urge you to garner the strength, the patience, and the resolve to do one thing: Listen. Listen with your eyes, ears, and heart. They know. They know when you are listening, and it matters; it really matters.

I have worked in education for 15 years, and I have seen many different situations with students. There are students who go home to parents who ask how their day was and have a genuine interest in their day at school.

Mother and teacher, Michelle Calfee gives ideas on API's blog for how parents can stay involved with their child's life at school when not homeschooled.

Some of the qualities I cherish most about my daughter are her love for reading, writing and art. I feel as though they allow me to see the world through her eyes. These forms of expression provide me with a wonderful channel into her viewpoint, thoughts and feelings. They also have opened up the lines of communication between us.

Mother of 2, Effie Morchi shares on API's blog how art and reading have helped her daughter learn to communicate about her inner world.

My husband Jim and I have a blended family, and our first experience with grandchildren began 14 years ago when our twin grandsons were born. We discovered that Attachment Grandparenting requires a very active role in several ways.

API Cofounder Lysa Parker shares her experience on API's blog.

I live in the Upper Midwest, specifically in Nebraska, USA, where we have 4 distinct seasons every year: a bitter winter, a stormy spring, a hot and humid summer, and a gently cooling fall. Our routines change with the seasons: We spend almost all of our time outdoors on the farm in the warm months, and much of our time indoors in the cold months.

API Leader, API's Publications Coordinator and mother of 3, Rita Brhel shares about her family's Fall Party to usher in the new season on API's blog.

A special message from API:

API is about families and a peaceful, joyful world. Our approach is to focus on spreading healthy attachment, empathy, responsiveness, and love. We look around and know there is an immense amount of work to be done and support to give.

As a grassroots movement and nonprofit, is valuable to have good strategies to take on the work. API relies on a small staff, incredible volunteers, and these strong systems to support parents, children, and professionals around the world.

Because of the overwhelming research, and our advocacy for infants and toddlers, Attachment Parenting International is in full support of strong parental leave policies, similar to those in many countries around the world. Sweden's policy is probably one of the most generous, with 480 days of paid parental leave.

API cofounder Barbara Nicholson explores this year's AP Month theme, "Parental Presence: Birthing Families, Strengthening Society," on API's blog.

My friendship with this gentle and intelligent woman spans decades. For most of her 10-year-long marriage, I assumed that all was well. It wasn’t. Like many women -- and men -- caught in the drama of a verbally abusive relationship, struggles are often experienced in shameful silence. When children witness these struggles, we are obligated to examine the cost, seek out needed healing and offer prompt support.

Children must go through almost a million phases, particularly in the early years. Sometimes I could barely get used to my baby's latest pattern before he had moved on to a different one! Some phases -- especially regarding sleep, settling, behavior or needing more attention than we are able to give -- can feel never-ending at the time.

Have you ever thought about where ‘the cot’ came from? Who invented it? When was it introduced into society? Before having my son, I always understood a cot to be a staple necessity in the life of a baby. The perfect cot within the perfect bedroom represented perfect parenting – that beautiful fantasy of what your life will be like when you became a parent. And as far as I was concerned, cots had been used by parents and babies since the dawn of mankind. I had not once given a second thought to the story behind the cot or its appropriation within western society.

Imagine your life… with a sense of ease as you begin to limit distractions and say no to too much, too fast, too soon. Today’s busier, faster, supersized society is waging an undeclared war . . . on childhood. ~Kim John Payne, SimplicityParenting.com