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Loading...Attachment Parenting: Good or Bad?
- Katie Waldeck
- May 10, 2012
- 2:16 pm
- 66 comments
Time’s latest cover says it loud and clear: “Are You Mom Enough?” Coupled with an image of a young attractive mother breast feeding her three-year-old son, it’s no surprise that the article has sparked some heated debate.
Certainly, Time was looking for shock value on the cover — but what of the article itself? Well, it details the rising popularity of “attachment parenting.” Developed by Dr. William Sears, attachment parenting consists of three basic tenets,
1. Breastfeeding, sometimes well into toddlerhood.
2. Co-sleeping, or sharing a bed with your baby.
3. Baby wearing, of having your baby close to your body in a sling all the time.
Proponents of attachment parenting say that creating a bond between mother and child is crucial to the child’s development. They’ll turn out better prepared for life’s challenges than children who were not parented with this philosophy. They cry less. They turn out to be smarter. They’ll be more independent.
Criticisms abound, too. One major concern, for instance, is that attachment parenting takes a lot of time and work. Realistically, it can be quite taxing on working mothers — not every mother has the luxury of being a stay-at-home parent, or, as Dr. Sears has suggested, taking out a loan to avoid going back to work. What’s more, research into the superiority of attachment parenting over conventional parenting methods is not conclusive.
What do you think of attachment parenting? Have you practiced it yourself, or would you? Does it expect to much of mothers? Tell us your stories and give us your opinions in the comments section below!
Related:
Misconceptions About Childless Adults
What Not to Say to Kids
What Do Your Remember From Your Childhood?
Read more: Babies, Children, Family, Health, Life, Pregnancy, Women's Health, attachment parenting, baby wearing, breastfeeding, cosleeping, debate, moms, motherhood, parenting
Katie Waldeck
Katie is a freelance writer focused on pets, food and women’s issues. A Chicago native and longtime resident of the Pacific Northwest, Katie now lives in Oakland, California.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
people are talking
thank you
Read, Shared, & Noted...Have a terific night!
interesting
Beautiful, and good ideas. Now to find someone's garden I can raid.
I think some of these kitties were saying, "Hello already!!! Didn't you hear me the first time? Shee…
66 comments
+ add your ownI don't know to much about "parenting attachment" but I do think if you use your common sense in raising children, you can't go wrong. Love & discipline go hand in hand, you need to remind your children that your are the parent & expect respect from them not only to other people, but to you & even themselves. I don't think a three year old child needs to be breastfed, by that age they should be enjoying a full, nutritious diet. A child needs to mix with others to develop social skills to prepare them for their life ahead. What do you do, interrupt them at play or go to their pre-school so you can breast feed them ? Possibly they will still want to be breast fed by the time they attend school. As far as sleeping with parents, NO, it's not safe, I have had two friends lose children, because they slept with their parents, one was smothered & the other was fiercly attacked by the Father as a result of a terrible nightmare, brought on by Post Traumatic Stress after serving in the Army. This child died some hours later.I have witnessed the grief suffered by these parents who thought they were doing the right things from an article they read in a book on good parenting ?? Unfortunately, author unknown. This grief tradgically ended in suicide from a Father who blamed himself for the death of his only son. Something that could have been avoided. I realize this is only an isolated case, but accidents CAN & DO happen & everyone has the attitude of "it will never
I had never heard of attachment parenting before and my children were not raised that way,but they have all grown into compassionate,independent,confident individuals,so each to their own. Whatever works for you is good.
Attachment, Parenting, and Peer Interactions of Toddler Children
Beverly I. Fagot
University of Oregon and
Oregon Social Learning Center
This is a scientific study that was done on children who had been raised in this manner. You can read the full article using PsycNET, or go through your local library and utilize their research tools....this particular piece had to go in before the APA board prior to publication...what that means is that this study can be replicated which shows validity ( if it cannot be replicated and is falsified you should take content with a grain of salt- an example of a study that came out as false and which has been withdrawn completely is the study on Autism and immunizations- this study was shown to have been falsified, data was skewed, and well everyone involved in the study has now been "blacklisted" and will not be able to be published or perform research of that ilk and import ever again....)
anyway this article has been proven to be valid-
and I found its findings to be interesting....I would suggest that others look up "like" articles that have been peer reviewed and have been proven to be empirically proven
Vedremo.....
Really?
It souns ok, but only in moderation----
Ugh. Would have been happier if I had been left alone more as a baby and young child. Seriously. Parents are getting even clingier.
Irritates me just thinking about it. My mother breast fed me until I was 6 months old or so, and thank god I have no memory of that. Even as a young child, she was too clingy. If she had breastfed me into my first and second year of life? Or longer? *shudders* I have plenty of confidence, but I would have been less annoyed if my Mom had backed off a bit, and that is from infantilizing me the degree that she did (telling me to put my hands on my knees as a two year old when she wanted to close the car door... seriously, Mom, I'm not stupid! Still remember that!) These kids breastfeeding at 3 and 4? They seriously creep me out.
It's ridiculous. Good parenting is about encouraging independence and confidence, not keeping them as big babies.
I agree with it and the 3 rules but, except for the first one, not fully. the next too are quite tricky: 2. Co-sleeping might be dangerous if the kid is too small, one might suffocate it (literally), and than what about your partner? - you need to feed that relationship too
3. Baby wearing - you might suffocate your child in the metaphoric sense, and he'll become dependent on you
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