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Things to Know About Attachment Parenting

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Do you practice attachment parenting? This type of parenting has become somewhat controversial. Those that practice it seem happy with it. Those that don’t often choose to share their opinion that this parenting style will somehow harm children (years later). Ultimately, it is up to each parent to decide what parenting style works best for them and their kids. Attachment Parenting is a parenting style that has eight principles to it. Each parent has a lot of leeway in how they interpret those principles and how they put them into action. Prepare for pregnancy, birth, and parenting – Parents remove … Continue reading →

Bravo’s “Extreme Guide to Parenting”

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How would you describe your parenting style? Some parents will answer that question by stating that their parenting style is traditional, or conservative, or “old-school”. Others might explain their parenting style as “eclectic”. They take some ideas from how their parents raised them, and add in some new concepts that have become popular in the years since they were children. No matter what your parenting style happens to be, it is unlikely that it matches up with the parents on Bravo’s new TV show “Extreme Guide to Parenting”. Season one featured 10 different families whose parenting styles have been described … Continue reading →

Attachment Parenting: My View

Dr. Sears said that attachment parenting is natural. He went on to say that if a parent were on a desert island and had no parenting knowledge then attachment parenting would be the road that parent would naturally head down. I completely agree. Let me start off by saying that I did not practice attachment parenting to the letter. I will say that if I had a baby again, I would implement more attachment parenting into my parenting style. My expertise with attachment parenting extends to breastfeeding up to 15 months, co-sleeping here and there, using a sling, feeding on … Continue reading →

Attachment Parenting Controversy

Most of us have probably heard about or seen the controversial “Time” magazine cover, in which a mother is breastfeeding her 3 year old son. It has sparked a lot of debate about not only the image displayed on its cover but the idea behind “attachment parenting.” Some of the methods used in attachment parenting include breastfeeding into their toddler years, “wearing” your baby, sleeping with or close to your baby, and responding to your baby whenever they cry. Now I am not one to judge, as every parent has to do what they feel is best. Some doctors believe … Continue reading →

Defending Your Parenting Choices

Who are you as a parent? When we are pregnant, our paths do not often obviously diverge from the norm a lot. Yes, some of us may choose to have our babies at home or in a birthing center. But the majority of us try to make good food choices and remove alcohol and other substances from our lives for the good of our baby. That’s the cultural norm. What if you don’t follow the cultural norm as your child gets older? We certainly didn’t. When my daughter came into the world, I said that I would respond to her … Continue reading →

Part 3: What Are the Five Tools of Attachment Parenting

Attachment parenting is a very personal decision, but a parenting method that I highly recommend. Parents who practice attachment parenting sometimes get criticized for putting the baby first, which confuses me, since I see this as a normal part of parenting a young infant. I have been discussing the five tools of attachment parenting, as laid out in The Baby Book , by Dr. and Mrs William Sears. So far, we have discussed for previous tools of attachment parenting. Now, let’s discuss the final tool, and the one that may be the most controversial. 5 “Share Sleep with Your Baby” … Continue reading →

Part 2: What Are the Five Tools of Attachment Parenting

Attachment parenting is a wonderful practice for both baby and his or her parents. Forming a close bond now can set you up to be a close family through many years. In Part 1 of this discussion, we talked about the first two tools of attachment parenting. Now let us continue. 3. “Breastfeed Your Baby” We all know that the benefits of breastfeeding are enormous, for the baby and for the mother. Beside all of those great physical benefits, there are actually emotional ones, too. Now I am not saying that parents who bottle feed don’t bond with their babies, … Continue reading →

What Are the Five Tools of Attachment Parenting?

If you are interested in practicing attachment parenting with your baby, where do you start? Here are some basics. I think that a lot of attachment parenting is instinctual. It can naturally occur as part of normal mothering or fathering. After my first child was born, I hadn’t heard of attachment parenting. When I learned about it later, I found that I was already doing many of the things that would qualify me as an “attached” parent. Still, it is nice to get some information from the experts. Dr. and Mrs. William Sears wrote about attachment parenting in their book, … Continue reading →

Sibling Attachment

Something that I get asked about a lot is my children’s adjustment to one another. We took three kids of different ages and backgrounds and threw them together and said “you’re family now”. It makes sense that some people wonder how that went! I have honestly been amazed at how well it has gone. Once Josiah was in our home I realized that we had a responsibility to protect him – even if that meant protecting him from his own siblings! I wondered if it would be too hard for him to have two older kids in the house, if … Continue reading →

Parenting Books vs. Common Sense

Someone recently asked in the forums which parenting books were the best. What are those books that you must have on your shelf? I was surprised at the number of mothers who said that parenting books were not worth their time because they are not geared specifically towards their child. Personally, I’m a big fan of Dr. Sears and have many of the things from the Dr. Sears Parenting Library. Of course, as you probably would’ve guessed, I also have a few breastfeeding books. But the common response of “trusting your gut” reminded me of how and why I began … Continue reading →