Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears,^[1] is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, a strong emotional bond with parents during childhood, also known as a secure attachment, is a precursor of secure, empathic relationships in adulthood. Pediatrics (also spelled paediatrics or pædiatrics) is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants and children. ... Dr. William Sears (fl. ... Mother and child. ... This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...

History

Attachment parenting describes a parenting approach inspired in part by attachment theory. Attachment theory, originally proposed by John Bowlby, states that the infant has a tendency to seek closeness to another person and feel secure when that person is present. In comparison, Sigmund Freud proposed that attachment was a consequence of the need to satisfy various drives. In attachment theory, attachment is considered a biological system and children are naturally attached to their parents because they are social beings, not just because they need other people to satisfy drives. Attachment is part of normal child development. Mother and child. ... John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) was a British developmental psychologist in the psychoanalytic tradition, notable for his pioneering work in attachment theory. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Developmental psychologist Mary Ainsworth devised a procedure, called The Strange Situation, to observe attachment relationships between a human mother and child. She observed disruptions to the parent/child attachment over a 20 minute period, and noted that this affected the child's exploration and behavior toward the mother. This operationalization of attachment has recently come under question, as it may not be a valid measure for infants that do not experience distress upon initial encounter with a stranger (e.g., Clarke-Stewart, Goossens, & Allhusen, 2001). Mary Ainsworth (December 1913 - 1999) was an American developmental psychologist known for her work in early emotional attachment with The Strange Situation as well as her work in the development of Attachment Theory. ... Mother and child. ...

According to Attachment Parenting International (API) there are 8 principles that foster healthy (secure) attachment between the caretaker and infant. While none of these principles are derived directly from original attachment research, they are presented as parenting practices that can lead to "attunement", "consistent and sensitve responsiveness" and "physical and emotional availability" that research has found to be key factors in secure attachment.

Eight principals of attachment parenting

Per Dr. Sears' theory of attachment parenting (AP), proponents such as the API attempt to foster a secure bond with their children by promoting eight principals which are identified as goals for parents to strive for. These eight principals are:

1. Preparation for Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting
2. Feed with Love and Respect
3. Respond with Sensitivity
4. Use Nurturing Touch
5. Engage in Nighttime Parenting
6. Provide Consistent Loving Care
7. Practice Positive Discipline
8. Strive for Balance in Personal and Family Life

These values are interpreted in a variety of ways across the movement. Many attachment parents also choose to live a natural family living (NFL) lifestyle, such as natural childbirth, home birth, stay-at-home parenting, homeschooling, unschooling, the anti-circumcision movement, the anti-vaccination movement, natural health, cooperative movements, and support of organic food. Natural childbirth is a childbirth philosophy that attempts to minimize medical intervention, particularly the use of anesthetic medications and surgical interventions such as episiotomies, forceps and ventouse deliveries and caesarean sections. ... Home birth is childbirth that occurs outside a hospital or birthing center setting, usually in the home of the mother. ... A young girl studying at home in a 1896 painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. ... Unschooling is a form of education in which learning is based on the students interests, needs, and goals. ... The symbol of the Genital integrity movement is the ribbon Genital Integrity. ... It has been suggested that Anti-vaccinationist be merged into this article or section. ... In alternative medicine, natural health is an eclectic self-care system of natural therapies concerned with building and restoring health and wellness via prevention and healthy lifestyles. ... For cooperative as used in biochemistry, see cooperative binding. ... An organically-grown apple. ...

However, Dr. Sears does not require a parent to strictly follow any set of rules, instead encouraging parents to be creative in responding to their child's needs. Attachment parenting, outside the guise of Dr. Sears, focuses on responses that support secure attachments.

Childcare

Attachment parenting proponents value continuous attachment to a primary caregiver. However, many still engage childcare, regardless of whether a parent stays at home. AP-friendly childcare focuses on meeting the child's needs first, but without denying the working parent of their duties outside of the home.

Discipline

Attachment parents seek to understand the biological and psychological needs of the children, and to avoid unrealistic expectations of child behavior. In setting boundaries and limits that are appropriate to the age of the child, attachment parenting takes into account the physical and psychological stage of development that the child is currently experiencing. In this way, parents may seek to avoid the frustration that occurs when they expect things their child is not capable of.

Attachment parenting holds that it is of vital importance to the survival of the child that he be capable of communicating his needs to the adults and having those needs promptly met. Dr. Sears advises that while still an infant, the child is mentally incapable of outright manipulation. Sears says that in the first year of life, a child's needs and wants are one and the same. Unmet needs are believed, by Dr. Sears and other AP proponents, to surface beginning immediately in attempts to fulfill that which was left unmet. AP looks at child development as well as infant and child biology to determine the psychologically and biologically appropriate response at different stages. Attachment parenting does not mean meeting a need that a child can fulfill himself. It means understanding what the needs are, when they arise, how they change over time and circumstances, and being flexible in devising ways to respond appropriately.

Similar practices are called natural parenting, instinctive parenting, intuitive parenting, immersion parenting or "continuum concept" parenting. According to Jean Liedloff, the continuum concept is the idea that in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings — especially babies — require the kind of experience to which our species adapted during the long process of our evolution. ...

Criticisms

One criticism of attachment parenting is that it can be very strenuous and demanding on parents. Without a support network of helpful friends or family, the work of parenting can be difficult. Writer Judith Warner contends that a “culture of total motherhood”, which she blames in part on attachment parenting, has led to an “age of anxiety” for mothers in modern American society.^[2] Sociologist Sharon Hays argues that the "ideology of intensive mothering" imposes unrealistic obligations and perpetuates a "double shift" life for working women.^[3] Judith Warner is the author of a range of nonfiction books, among them You Have the Power: How to Take Back Our Country and Restore Democracy in America (with Howard Dean) and the bestselling biography Hillary Clinton: The Inside Story. ...

Another criticism is that there is no conclusive or convincing body of research, aside from testimonials from participating parents, that shows this labor-intensive approach to be in any way superior to what attachment parents term "mainstream parenting" in the long run.^[4] Psychologist Jerome Kagan has criticised attachment parenting studies for neglecting the influence of innate temperament. He argues that personality factors such as shyness are partially inherited. A child in the “strange situation” may be securely attached to his mother but cry because he has a highly reactive temperament.^[5][6] Jerome Kagan (born 1929) was one of the key pioneers of developmental psychology. ... In humans, shyness is the feeling of apprehension or lack of confidence experienced in regard to social association with others, e. ...

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently amended its policy statement regarding SIDS prevention, and has come out against sharing a bed with small babies (though it does encourage room-sharing).^[7] Attachment Parenting International issued a response which alleged the data referenced in the statement was unreliable, and that co-sponsors of the campaign had created a conflict of interest.^[8] Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is any sudden and unexplained death of an apparently healthy infant aged one month to one year. ...

See also

• Breastfeeding
• La Leche League International
• Gentle Christian Mothers
• Attachment theory
• Attachment disorder
• Affectional bond
• Shared parenting
• Co-sleeping

Breastfeeding an infant Symbol for breastfeeding (Matt Daigle, Mothering magazine contest winner 2006) Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with milk from a womans breasts. ... La Leche League International (LLLI) is an international non-profit organization founded in 1956 in the USA to give support and information to women who choose to breastfeed their babies. ... Gentle Christian Mothers is an online community for Christian mothers who practice attachment parenting as popularized by Dr. William Sears. ... Mother and child. ... Attachment disorder is a term based on the psychological theories that normal mother-child attachment forms in the first two years of life; and if a normal attachment is not formed during the first two to three years, attachment can be induced later. ... In psychology, the term affectional bond is a type of attachment behavior one individual has for another individual, typically a mother for her child, in which the two partners tend to remain in proximity to one another. ... Shared parenting refers to a family arrangement in child custody or divorce settlements, in which the care of the children is equal, or more than substantially shared, between the natural parents. ... Co-sleeping, also called the family bed, is a practice in which babies and young children sleep with one or both parents. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 147th day of the year (148th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Attachment Parenting at the Open Directory Project The Open Directory Project (ODP), also known as dmoz (from , its original domain name), is a multilingual open content directory of World Wide Web links owned by Netscape that is constructed and maintained by a community of volunteer editors. ...