Post by Danielle on Oct 8, 2015 15:58:09 GMT
Dear Readers:
This is a bit of a different type of column from answering specific questions, as I usually do. I would like to give you some of my thoughts on a current parenting issue, since I am asked about it occasionally.
There was a huge reaction to the Time magazine cover of a 26 year-old mother breastfeeding her 3 year-old son. He is standing on a chair and is suckling her breast. As one might expect, it caused quite a controversy – as was intended.
The article referenced a book on “attachment parenting” as a new movement even though the book was written in 2001 by Dr. William Sears, a pediatrician. Dr. Sears is also the author of The Baby Book (1993) – widely considered to be THE baby bible just as Dr. Benjamin Spock’s baby book (Baby and Child Care, 1946) was post WWII.
One article states – “Sears, the father of attachment parenting, has converted hundreds of thousands of followers. But are some mothers taking his advice too far?”
Read more: healthland.time.com/2012/05/10/has-motherhood-gone-to-extremes/#ixzz1vjIwcaav
My response to this question is an emphatic YES. Mothers are wearing this fad as a badge of honour. Note the use of new terms like “mother bears”, “tiger moms”, etc..... as though this is something of which they should be proud. It is most definitely not. It is taking motherhood to a dangerous extreme. As with many fads, ideas are taken out of their original context and hence, become warped and misused in the process.
You may recall my last column on helicopter and cockpit parents and this commentary is an extension of my thoughts on that theme. Mothers have been made to feel guilty and inadequate in so many ways because they are not doing things just right. There is no just right or absolute. Even Dr. Sears says that these are “tools not rules” – that is, they are supposed to guide or help, not to be followed to the letter.
My caution to parents – to mothers especially – is to take these books and articles with a grain of salt. Read things to be informed, but please then think about them carefully and critically before blindly implementing advice like the gospel. Also, don’t feel guilty; it’s not going to help your situation. If you need professional help then please seek it out. I am here to help you, as are many other professionals.
Lastly, enjoy your time with your kids – it’s really important for them and for you.
This is a bit of a different type of column from answering specific questions, as I usually do. I would like to give you some of my thoughts on a current parenting issue, since I am asked about it occasionally.
There was a huge reaction to the Time magazine cover of a 26 year-old mother breastfeeding her 3 year-old son. He is standing on a chair and is suckling her breast. As one might expect, it caused quite a controversy – as was intended.
The article referenced a book on “attachment parenting” as a new movement even though the book was written in 2001 by Dr. William Sears, a pediatrician. Dr. Sears is also the author of The Baby Book (1993) – widely considered to be THE baby bible just as Dr. Benjamin Spock’s baby book (Baby and Child Care, 1946) was post WWII.
One article states – “Sears, the father of attachment parenting, has converted hundreds of thousands of followers. But are some mothers taking his advice too far?”
Read more: healthland.time.com/2012/05/10/has-motherhood-gone-to-extremes/#ixzz1vjIwcaav
My response to this question is an emphatic YES. Mothers are wearing this fad as a badge of honour. Note the use of new terms like “mother bears”, “tiger moms”, etc..... as though this is something of which they should be proud. It is most definitely not. It is taking motherhood to a dangerous extreme. As with many fads, ideas are taken out of their original context and hence, become warped and misused in the process.
You may recall my last column on helicopter and cockpit parents and this commentary is an extension of my thoughts on that theme. Mothers have been made to feel guilty and inadequate in so many ways because they are not doing things just right. There is no just right or absolute. Even Dr. Sears says that these are “tools not rules” – that is, they are supposed to guide or help, not to be followed to the letter.
My caution to parents – to mothers especially – is to take these books and articles with a grain of salt. Read things to be informed, but please then think about them carefully and critically before blindly implementing advice like the gospel. Also, don’t feel guilty; it’s not going to help your situation. If you need professional help then please seek it out. I am here to help you, as are many other professionals.
Lastly, enjoy your time with your kids – it’s really important for them and for you.