We are adding conferences, book signings and other events and we hope that some of you will come out and say hello~and share with us your stories of your parenting journeys.  When Lysa and I had our children in the late 70’s and early 80’s, we assumed that all the hard work and advocacy that was being done by mothers, fathers and some health professionals at that time would mean that by the time our children were having children, the birth and parenting paradigm would have changed so much for the better. Instead it is disheartening to hear about sky rocketing C-section rates, misinformation and medicalization of birth, and of course the serious increase in autism, and other neurological disorders. The good news is that there are many organizations, mostly non-profit, that continue to advocate and educate parents and professionals all over the country. As Lysa mentioned, we will be speaking in February at two wonderful conferences, and we’ve added a book signing at a Barnes and Noble in San Antonio, TX on Saturday, February 27th. http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/3027910

In April we will be speaking at several locations of a maternity/parenting store called “The Pump Station” in the Los Angeles area, and you can check their website for our speaking schedules as they become available. http://www.pumpstation.com/pumpstation/

The main reason we will be in the Los Angeles area is to attend the Whole Children/Whole Planet Expo, coordinated by our good friend Kathy Arnos.  Kathy is a passionate children’s advocate and environmentalist, bringing the two passions together to educate and support parents in making the best decisions for their families.  This conference will be in a beautiful setting in Northridge CA on April 24th (Earth Day of course!) and we hope if you attend you will come by our exhibit table, shared with Infant Massage USA (IMUSA). Lysa and I are excited to announce that we will become certified in Infant Massage as we will be attending the training in Nashville, TN from April 27-30th. For more information about the training visit their website at http://www.infantmassageusa.org/teach/

If you live in these areas and would like to invite us to speak, please contact us here and let us know. We are happy to come to schools, churches, support groups, wherever parents gather and want to discuss any of the 8 Principles in our book. This year our mantra is “how can we serve you and your community.’ Together we can make a difference and make the world a better place for future generations!

On October 22-24 we attended another great conference, Imago Relationships International (IRI), and listened to many brilliant clinicians speak about attachment theory and how this applies to their work with couples. Imago therapy is based on the work of Dr. Harville Hendrix and his wife, Dr. Helen Hunt, and Dr. Hendrix’s book, Getting the Love You Want, a Guide for Couples. Their parenting book, Giving the Love That Heals, A Guide for Parents, is another important resource for AP parents, as it discusses the importance of couples being very conscious in their parenting decisions, including getting in touch with their own childhood histories. As we know, we often parent the way we were parented, and being conscious of that will help us make better choices if needed with our own children.

It was exciting, rewarding, and inspirational to meet and renew friendships with so many Imago therapists. We sold out of our books, and felt that we really made a deep connection with so many like-minded professionals, even though some of them had never heard of Attachment Parenting! Although Dr. Hendrix endorsed our book, and we conducted an interview with him on the phone (that is posted on our website) this was the first time to meet him face to face. He and IRI are very interested and supportive of developing a partnership with API, so that more Imago therapists will be aware of our work, and network with local API groups. We hope that our AP community will see the value of strengthening their relationships…that couples need help with learning good communication skills, and modeling this for their children.

Ultimately, we have a shared vision of a more peaceful world, through loving, empathic communication.  If we can teach those skills to our children (and model it with our partners), and teachers are taught how to practice this in the classroom, and world leaders are taught how to dialogue in government, what a joyful world it would be!