maybe i'm just stupid but i have no idea what attachment parenting is. does anyone know?

Wish I could help you here. Don't know either.

Attachment parenting is a form of caregiving wherein the child is breastfed on demand, co-sleeps with the parent, is carried in a carrier rather than a stroller, is always with the parent, and is not left to their own devices (no crying themselves to sleep, et cetera). I have attachment parented my son for the nine months that he has been alive, and he is an extremely happy and well adjusted child. Of course, this will pose a problem once visitation with his "father" starts, since separation anxiety will play a role here and be exascerbated by the fact that he has never been without me. That is in the future, so we'll see.

There are different variations of attachment parenting, and what I have delineated is merely my working version. Basically, it is a style that closely links and bonds the child to the mother as much as is possible.

Hope it's not too late for this information...

attachment parenting is BEAUTIFUL..I did my best to do it w/both of my kids, but at the time I was living with people from another generation (women old enough to be my grandmother) who would NOT allow me to do attatchment parenting..they said it caused the kids to be spoiled..heh. Anyways..it's awesome. If I ever have another one I'm going to do it if it kills me. Next time NOBODY'S stopping me!!
*~*Meighan*~*

"signature picture too large"

Oh so that's what it is! I actually did that with my youngest son and didn't realize that it had a name. It just made sense and was pretty normal for the area I was living in (South Africa) at the time.

this is an extract from an article I just found from a Mom who does attachement parenting.

Then there is practical reality. If mom is holding the baby non-stop, nursing almost continuously, who is taking care of mom? That's where the partner or support person is crucial. For example, Jason makes breakfast for me almost every day. After a night of interrupted sleep, sleeping with a baby on top of me, I cannot tell you how much it means to me to feel nurtured by breakfast being made for me, served to me, and then the kitchen cleaned up afterwards. For the first six months, approximately, of our daughter's life, Jason also prepared lunch food for me before he went to work. The few times he didn't, I wasn't able to eat lunch that day because of Rachel's needs.

The above unfortunately does not correspond to the normal daily routine of a single parent. We do EVERYTHING, or it doesn't get done. No help, ever, to be expected.
To me that means we must also protect OURSELVES, in the (long term) interest of our child.

I believe, what I did for the first year of my baby's life comes as close as possible to AP for single parents. And I also believe it was good. But I never imagined it to have a special name. It's just the most natural thing in the world.

But I believe it is in the interest of the child to start gently pushing him out into the world at some point, to distance yourself from your baby step by step to allow him to start his own life.

okay, so in the interest of 'attatchement parenting' (which I think is a thing we all kinda do...), um, i've been co- sleeping (sharing a bed) with my daughter for the almost-ten-months that she's been alive.... now I think we are both ready to have her move to the crib. she wants more space and independence while she sleeps, and I do too. she's breastfeeding, and I know she eats in the night, but I don't wake up for it....how do I begin the transition to her crib?

Define the different steps of the process: for example
1. getting her used to the crib as her sleeping place first during day time then at night
2. getting her used to an eating schedule during the day
3. weaning her at night
4. weaning her completely
5. reducing the number of meals from x to 5 and then 4
...

these are only examples.

What I mean is, make sure you define each step and then make a plan when you do what.
It might go smooth and it might not, but once you've decided to do it you should go through with it.

I did tonnes and tonnes of research on attachment parenting when i was pregnant with Mack, and I dreamt of it and pondered it and wished for it, but the honest truth is that you do need the resources and a partner who is interested also.
My partner was so not interested. He was and still is, despite separation, attached to me and not to his children...
but if you can, why not? Some people say it spoils your children...but it is better to spoil them than to neglect them, and people spoil their children with toys and tvs and video games and that's ok...(it's not really, please note sarcasm)

Hi All:

I'm thinking nobody will see this post but I'm writing anyway. For anyone who may be considering attachment parenting, as a single parent since my son was 10 months, it really is possible.

I honestly had no choice, my little buddy demanded it -- wouldn't sleep without contact. But it is something that I will never regret, no matter how tired I got or how many people questioned my parenting -- I have a very loving 6 yr old who still loves touch (ok-getting him into his own bed is in the near future and may be a struggle) but he honestly sleeps really well, has absolutely no bedtime issues, typically falls asleep easily and on his own (I tuck him in and have "mommy time")

It's been a wonderful way to bond with my child so that I don't feel paranoid when he's away at his dad's. He did have separation issues in the early stages of divorce but the ex ended up letting him sleep in the same bed and the parallel sleeping routine helped with consistency.

I think it is truly just a nurturing issue that most parents do in some manner.

It's great to know others have done this too!

The problem is, I still do most of it and my son is 5!!! I don't breast feed! When the heck will he sleep in his own bed? I don't care, I love sleeping and snuggling with him.

apparently i've been attachment parenting by instinct.
from the first night after a c-section and delivering the cutest 10 pound baby ever...
the only difficulty i find is listening to other people tell me that he's going to have attachment isssues.
personally i feel that if you pay attention to nature it's pretty obvious how close a mother and child should be.
from body temperature to hunger - closeness is or would seem to be best.

ok, I don't know if this would be part of attachment parenting, but until this day, my 3.5 year old will almost regularly wake up about 30minutes before getting up time, run over to my room, and snuggle up with me until the alarm rings.
I would miss it too, if he didn't do it at all. In any case I can't see myself telling him to get back into his bed, do parents do that ??
Until he was 1 year old, he slept in my bed and was breastfed. Until he was 2 years old he slept in his bed, in my room. He got his own room at age 2.
I wouldn't do anything different next time over.
When he's sick, he sleeps with me too. I like that much better than running over every 30 minutes to check if he's OK !

I have been doing the attachment parenting thing since day two. On day one I tried doing it the opposite way, but that is not me. My son is now 14 months and I still wouldn't change anything. I can't imagine not waking up to his smiling little face!

quote:

Originally posted by Meighan:
[qb] attachment parenting is BEAUTIFUL..I did my best to do it w/both of my kids, but at the time I was living with people from another generation (women old enough to be my grandmother) who would NOT allow me to do attatchment parenting..they said it caused the kids to be spoiled..heh. Anyways..it's awesome. If I ever have another one I'm going to do it if it kills me. Next time NOBODY'S stopping me!!
*~*Meighan*~*

"signature picture too large" [/qb]

Is there any type of study (psychological or otherwise) as to what type of adjusted adults children of this method are going to be? I'm assuming it's very new b/c I've never heard of it. I don't mean theory, I mean proven studies. . .just curious.