Attachment Parenting
What an awesome responsibility
parenting is! Everyone has an opinion on how you should raise your
child. Which way is best? Listen to your baby and let your heart
decide. You were born with instincts to love, protect, and nurture
your children. Babies are born with instincts to help them get their
needs met (attachment promoting behaviors). Babies cry, not because
they are manipulating you; babies cry because their needs (not wants!)
are not being met, and they trust YOU to meet them.
Love your baby, trust your baby's instincts, and cherish this time
in your child's life. Your child will change daily, sometimes hourly!
Cuddle your baby closely in a sling,
sleep with your baby, and love your baby as much as you can. You
can never love a child too much.
What is attachment parenting?
According to Attachment Parenting International, it "is a philosophy
based in the practice of nurturing parenting methods that create
strong emotional bonds, also known as secure attachment, between
the infant and parent(s). This style of parenting encourages responsiveness
to the infant or child's emotional needs, and develops trust that
their emotional needs will be met. As a result, this strong attachment
helps the child develop secure, empathic, peaceful, and enduring
relationships."
Dr. William Sears points
out specific attachment parenting tools to help parents build a
strong relationship with their children. He calls them "The
Baby B's." As an overview of what attachment parenting is,
here are The Baby B's.
• Birth
Bonding - establishing a strong bond as soon after birth as possible
• Breastfeeding
• Babywearing
- using a sling or other soft carrier to keep baby close
• Bedding
Close to Baby
• Belief
in the language value of your baby's cry - baby isn't manipulating
you by crying, he is just trying to get his needs met.
• Beware
of baby trainers - Ferber, Ezzo,
and Tracy Hogg (The Baby Whisperer, amongst others)
•
Balance
- keeping a balance between meeting your baby's needs and those
of yourself, your spouse, and the rest of your family.
Dr. Sears
Website
Attachment
Parenting International
Empathic
Parenting/Canadian Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children (CSPCC)
The Natural
Child Project
Family
and Home Network
Mothering
Magazine
The
Liedloff Continuum Network
Natural
Parenting WebRing