As part of the Attachment Parenting International site redesign that was launched earlier this year, a new forum section was also created. I volunteer as the forum administrator and wanted to dedicate my API Speaks entry this month to introducing you to the API Forums. For those that have visited before, maybe you’ll learn something new. For those that haven’t, I invite you to join us in the lively discussion on the official API Forums.
Forum Statistics
The forums were launched at the beginning of April and in the few short months that we’ve been live, over 700 people have registered and created almost 2,000 threads with nearly 12,000 posts. Many new forum members have found their way to our site from Google and others from their local support groups.
Age-specific Forums
In addition to the general discussion area, the API Forums also have forums dedicated to practicing the Eight Principles of Attachment Parenting with children of a variety of ages. Whether you are just now planning to start a family or are watching your young adult child go out and start a new life, the API Forums have an area dedicated to these discussions.
Circumstance-specific Forums
API understands that there are certain parenting situations which offer unique challenges and joys when it comes to practicing API’s Principles. In order to meet the needs of API members in different situations, API has created an adoption forum, a forum dedicated to divorce and custody, an area to discuss parenting multiples and a section on parenting the special needs child.
API Reads
Book clubs are popular worldwide and API is joining the book club craze with the API Reads forum. Forum members can participate in lively discussion with a new book being discussed every other month. In addition to the discussions with other forum members, some authors have signed on to facilitate a premium forum discussion of their book. August and September 2008 will focus on Jan Hunt’s book, The Natural Child. For a complete list of future books, visit the API Reads Book of the Month Reading Schedule.
API Around the World
API is truly an international organization with forums dedicated to geographic regions within the United States as well as around the world. Connect with other families in your area through the API Around the World forums.
If you’re new to the forum setup, don’t forget to check out the API Forum Frequently Asked Questions page for easy-to-follow directions on getting started. I look forward to “seeing” you on the API Forums!
