Have you seen the recent cover of Time Magazine? On it, Jamie Lynn Grumet a Los Angeles mother who practices attachment parenting, is breast feeding her three year old son. I love that they photographed Jamie Lynn and her son standing up, what a statement!
When Eben was born, I didn’t have a lot of experience with children – I did however know that I wanted to have a natural childbirth and to breastfeed. I had many people close to me say that I should bottle feed, put him in a bouncer/swing and allow Eben to cry it out in his crib at nap and bedtime, or he would become “spoiled” and I would never be able to put him down or leave him with a babysitter. (I secretly hoped I would never have to leave him!) And I even had several people tell me that it was dangerous for Eben to sleep with me. However, I decided that I would parent Eben the way that I wanted to – I enjoyed holding him all of the time, and enjoyed breastfeeding and co-sleeping with him even more – dare I say, I loved it and remember thinking to myself that those were the happiest times of my life.
Another thing that I loved about attachment parenting is it made my life as a mother so much easier. Breastfeeding is super convenient, I had a never ending supply of food for Eben with me at all times, and it is totally eco-friendly too! I never had to worry about what eco-friendly bottles to buy, toting feeding supplies with me, or needing a place to heat up a bottle. Breastfeeding, co-sleeping and “baby wearing” taught me to slow down and enjoy the moment, savor my time with Eben and I love those memories. I never knew that the way that I parented was called “attachment parenting”, I was only parenting Eben the way that felt right and natural to me – I never thought of it as been extreme.
I breastfeed and co-slept with Eben until he a little older than four. Eben is now almost 11 and we have had more than our share of challenges, but the one thing that has never faltered is our bond. Even at 11, he is still my snuggle bunny, he still holds my hand when we go somewhere together and he still kisses me hello and good-bye, even at school! He has a kind heart and I like to think that has something to do with the way that I parented him in the beginning.
I think that as a mother, you have to decide what is best for you and your child. It’s your decision. If you want to practice attachment parenting, go for it! If you don’t, that is fine too. I have a friend who is an amazing mother, she didn’t practice attachment parenting and the choices that she made worked for her and her children – they are delightful! I think you can be an amazing mother regardless of the type of parenting that you choose, I just thought this article was interesting and wanted to share my experience.
What do you think? Do you think there is an age limit to attachment parenting? What style of parenting worked for you? I would love to hear your thoughts!
photo via Time Magazine
