Frequently Asked Questions
API Leader Applicants

Do I have to finish the required reading before I apply?

No, you can complete your reading within a few months after you apply.

Can you waive the 18 months of parenting prerequisite if I have an advanced degree or professional experience?

No, API Support Group Leaders need to have personal experience practicing AP with their own children. Experience in positive discipline is particularly important, since so many parents need help with it.

Can I apply a few months before my child is 18 months old, as long as she or he is 18 months old by the end of the process?

No, please wait. Your ideas, attitudes, and actions concerning discipline are very important and are more fully developed and usually practiced initially in the six months following your child's first birthday. Applicants need to have discipline experience to discuss the Practice Positive Discipline Principle during the application and approval process.

What should I do in order to help prepare myself to apply while I wait for my child to reach 18 months?

You can use the time to meet the reading requirement (making your application go faster when you apply). You could start an unofficial AP group or playgroup if there is no API Support Group already meeting in your community.

What happens after I apply?

  1. We will send an e-mail within five days saying that the application has been received. If you do not have e-mail, you will be contacted by postal mail.
  2. Your application will be reviewed after the membership fee, application fee, and recommendations are received.
  3. We will send a series of letters via e-mail (unless you prefer postal mail) addressing what you have written to answer the six questions on the application form. If more information is needed, you may be asked to elaborate or answer more specific questions.
  4. We will ask you for your thoughts on dealing with your biases and showing respect and acceptance to parents.
  5. You will practice responding to specific helping situations.
  6. You will answer questions about the API Leader's Manual and other resources on the Leader pages on the API Web site.
  7. You will pay a prorated leader membership fee and sign a statement of commitment.
  8. Lastly, we will confirm your contact information and you will be on your way to supporting families as an affiliated API Support Group Leader!

How long does it take to be approved after I apply?

The amount of time involved between the application submission and approval averaged six and a half months in 2007. The quickest application was completed in two months.

Do I have to finish the reading before I am approved?

Yes. Reading the required books will prepare you to help parents and to be familiar with approved resources to refer parents to.

How much should I write about practicing the Eight Principles of Attachment Parenting? Do I need to number each of the principles and address them individually, or is it acceptable to just write in a flowing way about my experience in such a way that all eight principles are covered but not separated?

You should write a few sentences or a paragraph or so about each principle. You can write either way, although writing about each principle separately may mean that you more fully elaborate on your experiences and personal philosophy of parenting.

What are the costs to maintain affiliation with API? How do groups make income to pay expenses?

Support groups pay a $25 affiliation fee yearly in October. We encourage groups to sell memberships and plan fundraising projects to meet this expense and to reimburse you for any expenses incurred in establishing and running a group. For the $35 membership, groups keep $15 and send $20 to API Headquarters.

Do I have to have a co-leader to start a new support group?

We do not require having two leaders, but we do recommend it. It is more difficult to establish and maintain a support group with one leader, but some of our support groups do have only one leader.

How can I find like-minded parents who might be interested in attending or starting an AP group?

  • Attend a La Leche League group or other parenting group's meeting in your community and get to know the leaders and parents who attend.
  • Start an AP playgroup and advertise in the local grocery or health food store, library, children's museum, children's clothing stores, maternity stores, bookstores, and other places frequented by parents and expectant parents.
  • Start a community-based AP discussion e-mail list on Yahoo!.
  • Announce a meeting for parents interested in starting an API Support Group in a local free paper.
  • Contact local midwives, doulas, childbirth educators, lactation consultants, AP-friendly pediatricians, and others who have contact with new parents to let them know what you are doing and ask them to put up a flyer and/or direct interested parents to you.
  • Place an ad in Mothering magazine.
  • Schedule an Attachment Parenting "meetup" at www.meetup.com.