attachment parenting
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| Mon, 08-14-2006 - 3:17pm |
A woman I know (I used to work with her dh) practices "attachment parenting". Here is a definition (for those who don't know what it is):
"Attachment Parenting includes respecting your child's needs, feeding on demand, and answering your baby's cries. Other parts of Attachment Parenting include co-sleeping, nursing on demand, sling or other baby carrier wearing, and cloth diapering. Not all Attachment Parents practice all of the above, but never the less love the idea of Attachment Parenting and comforting their children.
Attachment parenting uses mild discipline methods and avoids all physical or emotional punishment, such as inflicting shame on a child for inappropriate behavior. Children are encouraged and allowed to sleep with their parents, and you treat your bed as the family bed. Meeting your child's needs according to the child's time frame during the early years of development is an essential part of attachment parenting. Children will be allowed to grow and learn at their own pace and not according to standard time frames."
What do you all think of attachment parenting?
I don't see attachment parenting as something a WOH parent could do, or could they? What do u think?
I am also curious to see if SAHPs vs/ WOHPs will have different opionions on this topic.
If anyone here practices attachment parenting - was your decision to do so closely linked with your decision to be a SAHP?
josee

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What's "perfectly designed for the human body" may no longer apply.
Sabina
Oh, life is a glorious cycle of song,
Wow you have a totally different philosophy on this than I. Food is what fuels our bodies; it can be nurturing; wonderfully tasty; and healthy (or really unhealthy). I take a great amount of time and effort deciding what to feed my family. We order organic fruits and veggies from a local farm and eat what is in season/fresh. I order organic meats so as to avoid all the chemicals and other nasties that can be in commercial grade meats and dairy products. The list goes on. Food matters. Not as much as the time with the family, but I care a great deal about what I feed them.
So you'd just as likely serve McDonalds or take away pizza?
Which foods would you suggest an infant consume that would replace the ingredients found in breast milk that are not available in formula? I'm not suggesting that you can look at a child and know they were formula fed due to some obvious difference, but I am saying that children who are formula fed are sick more often or to a greater degree than their breast fed counterparts. This doesn't mean that all formula fed children are sick all the time, as genetics play a very big role, as does environment. Sure, you can pay close attention to diet, but a formula fed baby whose parents pay close attention to diet is still not as well off as a he would have been if he was nursed and his parents paid close attention to his diet.
"Not in about 8 years but you have to trust the mother is a conscientious human being who watches everything she puts in her mouth and that's not always the case in many parts of this country. So, therefore those babies would be better off on formula."
Why would a nursing mother have to watch everything she puts in her mouth? Even in countries where nutrition is inadequate, the World Health Organization recommends that mothers nurse their babies for at least two years--so the babies DO get adequate nutrition.
I don't think it takes a "conscientious human being" to avoid drugs like cocaine and PCP, or to make sure any medications they take are compatible with nursing, just as a pregnant woman is only using common sense to follow her ObGyn's guidelines on medication. Are you going to tell women they shouldn't get pregnant because a few people are stupid enough to take drugs that risk their baby's health? And, not all drugs that are dangerous while pregnant (like nicotine) are dangerous to a nursing baby. Of course you want to check on the status of an OTC or prescription drug before popping a pill. That's common sense.
http://www.kellymom.com/health/lifestyle/smoking.html
Exactly! Because the baby will get what the baby needs first, and the mother gets what's left.
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