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Preparing for Motherhood

Attachment Parenting

What Does It Mean, How Does It Work and Is It Right for You?

What parent doesn't want to feel more attached to her child? What child wouldn't benefit from a close physical and emotional relationship with his parents?

It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of the bond between parent and child, and parents who practice attachment parenting aren't interested in trying. Through their parenting philosophy, reflected by some simple behavioral techniques, attachment parents are committed to helping their children achieve their full potential.

What Does It Mean?
Attachment theory, pioneered by British psychoanalyst John Bowlby, says that the bonds formed between an infant and his primary caregiver (usually his mother) have a lifelong impact on him.

Attachment theory says that the bonds formed between an infant and his primary caregiver (usually his mother) have a lifelong impact on him.

By responding promptly and appropriately to his needs, the caregiver is able to establish a secure attachment with the child and help him successfully deal with emotional issues like fear and stress. In short, the child becomes better adjusted with closer personal relationships.

As attachment parenting is based on attachment theory, at its core is a similar theme: Babies have needs and they depend on their parents to meet them.

How Does It Work?
Dave Taylor of Boulder, Colo., is a devoted attachment parent of three. "Basically, the idea is that we are social creatures and anything that pushes us apart is unnatural," he says. "There's no reason a baby needs to sleep in a crib in a separate room, for example, and that's a very new idea for society. Instead, babies and children can sleep with their parents quite safely, and gain the great benefit of skin contact and greater sense of loving attachment."


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Anonymous says
December 16, 2009

I tried to co-sleep with my son and found that I loved being close to him, however, it was very uncomfortable because of space issues and also I found that we both were not getting enough rest. I would wake up uncomfortable and he would want to nurse every hour. We woke each other up all night long. I was SO tired. Now I put him in his crib in his own bedroom and feed him during the night whenever he wakes up. Then, I sleep with him in bed usually a few hours in the early morning and wake up with him "looking into my eyes"! :) I leave the doors open and I can hear him just fine when he cries and night and my husband or myself will go and get him quickly. He knows we are there even though it's down the hall. I am not desensitizing my child or making him feel like I'm not there for him by putting him in his crib. We are all sleeping better at night including my baby. I am offended at this quote by Dave Taylor,"If it feels right to teach your baby to be desensitized at night and sleep in her own room, that's what you should do. If it, on the other hand, feels awful to teach your newborn that you aren't there when they cry, when they really need you, well, then, attachment parenting is probably a good direction to consider." It would never feel right to" desensitize" or "teach (my) newborn that (I) am not there when they cry". This quote is just very narrow minded and insinuating in a "sly" way that if you are not co-sleeping you are an aweful parent. I attend to my son when ever he needs me. I do believe in always responding to my sons needs and being a secure haven for him and I am very close to my son. Do not insinuate that parents who do not co-sleep are neglecting their children by desensitizing them and not responding to them. Not one way fits all.

Content provided on this site is for educational purposes only and should not be construed to be medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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