What is Attachment Parenting?

        Attachment Parenting is the practice of raising children in light of John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory, which emphasizes the child’s experience of a “warm, intimate and continuous relationship with his mother (or permanent mother-substitute) in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment.” Since 1951, Bowlby and other notable child development researchers such as Mary Ainsworth have explored the nature of parent-child interactions that produce a “secure base” from which a child can confidently explore the world.

        The term “Attachment Parenting” was coined by the pediatrician William Sears and his wife, Martha Sears R.N. to connote parenting practices observed in the parents of healthy, happy, well adjusted children in Dr. Sears’ pediatric practice. The founders of Attachment Parenting International, Lysa Parker and Barbara Nicholson, have synthesized the observations of the Searses and others with the child development research, based on Attachment Theory, into API’s Eight Principles of Parenting, which form the basis of API support group discussions.

        Monterey Bay Attachment Parenting International is a local parenting support group affiliated with an international non-profit parenting organization. Our mission is to improve the emotional health of the next generation. Through parent education and mutual support, we are helping each other create the strong, “attached” relationships that will prepare our children for a lifetime of healthy relationships.