Theme, “Families at Play: Nurturing Parent-Child Relationships through Play” Celebrated Across U.S., Around World in October

Nashville, TN – September 20, 2011 – Attachment Parenting International (API, http://apmonth.attachmentparenting.org/) Pressures are high and patience is low as parents raise their children amid greater economic stress, but playing with children relieves the stress of parenting and work! Attachment Parenting International reminds parents there is more to play during this October 2011 Attachment Parenting Month. During AP month, parents are challenged to re-examine their daily activities and traditions and learn new ways to engage respectfully with their children, in play, as a way to grow with each other and remain close. The month is marked by celebrations and awareness raising by API’s non-profit global network of parenting support groups with more than 60 chapters in the U.S. and abroad, along with partners, AskDrSears.com, Mothering.com, play expert Fred Donaldson, the Million Minute Family Challenge, Pure Play Kids, Dr Sears L.E.A.N, and Infant Massage USA under this year’s theme, ―Families at Play: Nurturing Parent-Child Relationships through Play.‖

PLAY HAS A PURPOSE
Play helps to build relationships. Play helps children make sense of the world. It aids physical development. It is an opportunity for children to create an identity, learn their capabilities, challenge themselves, and to learn how to relate to others and their environment. Play lays out the foundation for social, emotional, cognitive and physical skills.
When parents engage in play with their children, priceless and precious time, attention, and felt love is being shared and experienced in the context of fun. Tensions can be released, softened and even dissolved. In addition parents who engage with their children in a playful and intentional manner are sending a powerful message to their children that they matter more than whatever else competes for the parents’ time.

GET IN THE GAME
Through our AP Month theme this year, Attachment Parenting International along with the Sears family, the Million Minute Family Challenge, and other prominent Attachment Parenting supporters, aim to coach parents back into the game, helping them become more aware of the importance of parent-child play while offering fun, easy ways to beneficially engage through play with their families.
Many parents feel played out in one way or another. However, while there’s certainly a case to be made for plentiful solitary and peer-oriented ―child’s play,‖ and organized sports, parents who regularly play with their children are doing so much more than ―just‖ having a little fun.
Not only do the children benefit, but the parents and the parent-child relationship benefit too. Maybe most important of all, when parents engage in joyful, collaborative play with their children, the child receives a powerful message that 1) they matter more than whatever else competes for your time and 2) running, playing and having fun is an important and worthwhile activity for everyone at all ages.
Child’s play is universal, recognized as developmentally important and even referred to as a child’s first and primary language – for years. “Through our AP Month theme this year, we aim to coach parents (back) into the game, helping them become more aware of the importance of parent-child play while offering fun, easy ways to beneficially engage through play with their families,” said Art Yuen, AP Month event coordinator.

SIMON SAYS TO VISIT AP MONTH CENTRAL
Visit AP Month Central http://apmonth.attachmentparenting.org/ for more information about how you can participate in making AP Month’s Families at Play a grand success for families across our global community. We invite communities to join with us as we work to draw attention to and work to provide the support and information necessary for parents to raise connected, happy children.
During the month of October, AP Month partners will be sharing information about Families at Play. API will launch a free daily family activity calendar of motivating tips and activities, and even giveaways; API Speaks, the blog of API will host a ―Families at Play‖ blog carnival and submissions are invited; API Live! Teleseminar will feature a special episode with Larry Cohen, author of Playful Parenting; essays and photo entries will illustrate the theme and submissions are welcome; a lively online auction of gifts, one-of-kind items, services, travel and more will help sustain the education and support efforts of API’s mission; and a national membership campaign will help spread the word about the importance of parents, not just programs, in their children’s health. The AP Month online auction event launches October 1.
―We hope that our activities celebrating Attachment Parenting month will help to recognize the difference API has made and to continue to raise the profile of Attachment Parenting, enabling these communities to spread the word and benefit even more parents and their children,‖ said Barbara Nicholson, author of Attached at the Heart and Co-founder of API.

FAMILIES AT PLAY
―Ready or not, here I come!‖ Do you remember? Did you play it?

The line is from Hide and Seek – it’s what that the seeker yells out after counting and before going out to find the hiders and we’re calling out to all the parents who are hiding behind ―too much‖ to come out and play with their children! If you’ve never played Hide and Seek with your children, give it a whirl! Even young ones love to play it in modified forms.
When I suggested that you play with your child, did you notice any passing thoughts like this: ‖I’m no good at games‖ or ―My child doesn’t want/need to play with me‖ or ―my children are too old for those sorts of games‖ or ―my children are already involved in sports‖ or ―I’m too old/stiff/out of shape/busy/tired for that‖ etc… ? Many parents feel played out in one way or another. However, while there’s certainly a case to be made for plentiful solitary and peer-oriented ―child’s play,‖ and organized sports, parents who regularly play with their children are doing so more than ―just‖ having a little fun.

Studies have shown that parent-child play generates these developmental benefits:

• Reciprocal positive affect
• Visual, auditory and tactile stimulation
• Means-end relationship learning
• Close physical contact
•  Language acquisition, sometimes in the form of songs (and if songs are used, that builds musicality and math skills)

Join in the celebration of AP Month and share the planned events through the AP Month Central web site: apmonth.attachmentparenting.org.

AP Month is made possible with support from these sponsors:
WYSH, Music Together, The Natural Child Project, Lamaze International, BabyBabyOhBaby, and Holistic Moms Network

AP Month is presented by these Partners:

Attachment Parenting is based in the practice of nurturing parenting methods that create strong emotional bonds, also known as secure attachment, between the infant and parent(s). This style of parenting encourages responsiveness to children’s emotional needs, enabling children to develop trust that their needs will be met. As a result, this strong attachment helps children develop the capacity for secure, empathic, peaceful, and enduring relationships that follow them into adulthood.

Attachment Parenting International (API) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1994 to network with parents, professionals and like-minded organizations around the world. In addition to providing assistance in forming Attachment Parenting support groups, API functions as a clearinghouse providing educational materials, research information, consultative, referral and speaker services to promote Attachment Parenting concepts. Through education, support, advocacy and research, API seeks to strengthen families and increase awareness of the importance of secure attachment, ultimately helping to reduce or prevent child abuse, behavioral disorders, criminal acts
and other serious social problems. API is grateful to an impressive group of board and advisory board members for supporting parents and API’s mission, including: Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears, R.N., author and co-sleeping specialist Dr. James McKenna, pediatrician Jay Gordon, author Isabelle Fox, Lu Hanessian of LetTheBabyDrive.com, Peggy O’Mara of Mothering Magazine, Linda Storm of Infant Massage USA, Judy Arnall of AP Canada, and Jan Hunt of the Natural Child Project, and many others, www.attachmentparenting.org.

Play expert Fred Donaldson is a former professor who taught at the Universities of Washington and California State Hayward, and the California School of Professional Psychology. Fred pioneered the study of Original Play, having researched the subject with children, adults and wild animals for over the past 25 years. Fred currently travels both nationally and internationally lecturing and playing with diverse groups of people, organizations, and institutions. Fred is the author of the Pulitzer-Prize nominated book, Playing By Heart, and has authored numerous articles on Original Play.

Mothering.com is like no other community. It is an original. Born in 1976 out of the need for the natural family community to learn about raising healthy children, Mothering.com was the birthplace of the natural family lifestyle. www.mothering.com.

AskDrSears.com is the online presence of William Sears, MD and Martha Sears, RN. After raising eight children and practicing pediatric medicine for more than 30 years, they have answered questions from thousands of parents, written 40+ pediatric books, articles in parenting magazines, and made appearances on more than 100 television programs, www.askdrsears.com.

The Million Minute Family Challenge is a grassroots effort that encourages interaction and communication among family and friends through playing board games, card games and dice games. Everyone in the United States and Canada is encouraged to form a group of family or friends, register at www.millionminute.com and play a board game for at least 20 minutes sometime between September and December.

Pure Play Kids was created to improve the marketplace for children’s products and to provide parents with better choices for raising fun and creative families! Pure Play Kids stands for toys that are kid-powered (not battery-powered), open-ended (not pre-programmed), and will grow with kids (allowing parents to buy better, not buy more). www.pureplaykids.com.

Dr Sears L.E.A.N. is about creating a healthier community begins with having practical tools and information that make implementing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle simple. Dr. Sears has focused many years of his practice on helping others learn how easy healthy living can be through lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition, the four pillars of health for expectant mothers, children, families, or employees, www.drsearslean.com.

Infant Massage USA’s mission is to promote nurturing touch through training, education, and research so that babies, parents, and caregivers are loved, valued, and respected throughout the world community, www.infantmassageusa.org.

About AP Month 2011

What: Attachment Parenting International (API), along with the Sears family and other prominent AP supporters, declares October to be Attachment Parenting (AP) Month.

The AP Month vision is to create one strong voice for AP through activities, events and information and to celebrate what we believe in — that ―Families at Play‖ encourages healthy social-emotional child development and healthy parent-child relationships for healthier communities.

Who: All parents, AP partners and like minds around the world are invited and encouraged to become and/or promote ―Families at Play‖ during the fourth annual Attachment Parenting Month.

Why: ―Families at Play: Nurturing Parent-Child Relationships through Play‖ is the theme for AP Month 2011 and a statement that play shared as families is an overlooked, but important and fun way to promote healthy social-emotional development and enduring, nurturing relationships. During AP Month, parents are challenged to re-examine their daily activities and traditions and learn new ways to engage respectfully with their children in play as a way to grow with each other and remain close. AP Month partners will offer resources to support and sustain these efforts all year round.

Resources: The AP Month Central website is the gateway to information and activities related to AP Month.