Welcome to API Reads!

A great book on starting and maintaining balance for women. Provides reasons on why you need balance, how to examine where you can find balance, and what it can mean to you.

Disclaimer: The author references spirituality throughout the book in regards to being present with God, prayer, and remembering your passions are provided by God. Other than prayer the author does not suggest any religious implementations. The spirituality are just references.

BRC personal reviewer comments: Great book on finding time for yourself with various pockets in your day and making the best use of those pockets of time. To find and maintain your personal passions. I found this all to be very helpful and a much needed resource.

Great book on helping to save your marriage with more success than going to marriage counseling. Very practical advice.

A great book on balance in regards to how technology can take over and make you miss those moments with your children and family. The author provides suggestions on how to balance technology with daily life and shares her own struggles in this regards. A great book and one that we'll be discussing in our Good Reads book club this July 31st through August 31st.

See the latest book review by one of API's BRC member for "The Present Mother: How to Deepen Your Connection With the Present Moment, Yourself and Your Child" by Catherine Weiss. 

We've finished reading two adorable children's books that have positive messages in them for kids. Bend at Your Knees if You Please and Dogs and Bugs go Together… Really They Do both by Sharon Penchina and Dr. Stuart Hoffman. The Dogs and Bugs book teaches children about how to be a good friend and that friends can be different.  Bend at Your Knees describes health habits including good posture, sleep, and exercise. For both books the reviewer's 3-year old loved them!

API recently finished reading the book Parenting with Wisdom and Compassion: Bring Out the Best in Your Family by Ilene Val-Essen, Ph.D. The main premise of this book is to change your current parenting patterns into more positive, connective patterns that will help your children develop into healthy adults. Ilene also points out that along the way you'll also find yourself healing on the path to a more loving home.

We are reading "Parenting with Patience" by Judy Arnall. Read at your own pace in your own time with no weekly deadlines! We'll be hosting an online discussion of this book on February 7th through the 13th through GoodReads. I truly hope you can join the discussion.

We are reading “Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles” by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka for the month of November and beginning of December. This is a wonderful resource that you will find valuable as a family. Some of the topics covered are: • Emotion coaching • Enforcing your standards while remaining connected • Tantrums • Temperament (yours and theirs) • And MUCH MORE… Our book for December and a portion of January is “Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings” by Dr. Laura Markham. This is a wonderful book that could be considered an extension of “Siblings Without Rivalry”. Purchase your books today to follow along. We are now posting our comments through API’s blog, APTly Said but you can also post to GoodReads with your comments along the way as well. Happy reading everyone!

This October we will be finishing up Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne.

We are finishing up Parenting Without Power Struggles by Susan Stiffelman and will begin Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne beginning August 31st. Parenting Without Power Struggles has been an excellent book in the positive discipline arena. If you haven't read it yet, be sure to pick it up and read it on your own.