Child Development and Attachment Parenting: A Perfect CombinationOne of the things that I love about attachment parenting (AP) is that it is a natural way to parent. The principles of attachment parenting are really about following our natural instincts (which are there for a reason) and a child’s naturaldevelopment. That is to say, if a parent follows their instincts in caring for their child (sleeping within reach, attending all their needs, and feeding on demand, for example), they are not only following a long legacy of what our ancestors did, but they are following this new way of looking at child development- often called attachment parenting.Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmentalpsychology.According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong consequences. Sensitive and emotionally available parenting helps the child to form a secure attachment style which fosters a child’s socio-emotional development and well being. Less sensitive and emotionally available parenting or neglect of the child’s needs may result in insecure forms of attachment style, which is a risk factor for many mental health problems.Principles of attachment parenting aim to increase development of child’s secure attachment and decrease insecure attachment.- WikipediaSince Dr. Sears coined the term, there have been many organizations and individuals who have further defined and refined the principles. My favorite spin on theprinciples are set forth by Attachment Parenting International.API’s Eight Principles of Parenting:1st Principle: Prepare for Pregnancy, Birth, and Parenting2nd Principle: Feed with Love and Respect3rd Principle: Respond with Sensitivity4th Principle: Use Nurturing Touch5th Principle: Ensure Safe Sleep, Physically and Emotionally6th Principle: Provide Consistent and Loving Care7th Principle: Practice Positive Discipline8th Principle: Strive for Balance in Personal and Family LifeLet’s explore some of these principles and see how they apply to what we know about child development:Principle Two: Feeding with love and respectMost equate AP with breastfeeding, and for the vast majority of AP parents, thatis indeed the case. But if for some reason you are in the small percentage of mothers that breastfeeding is not possible for (low supply, childbirth after mastectomy, adoption and fostering – there are many reasons this can happen), this principle still applies to bottle feeders.To me, this principle means listening to your baby’s needs and responding to them,baby-led weaning (transition to solids), and child-led weaning from the bottleor breast. It means feeding healthy foods, avoiding overly processed and nutrition poor foods, and allowing the child to take their time eating and exploring. Allowing a child to lead the weaning process is one that corresponds to their natural, neurological and emotional development and is not on an outside agenda ortime-line with other priorities.Principle Three: Respond with SensitivityAs hard as it is for some of us to understand, there are those “child care experts”who advocate allowing your child to “cry it out”- in other words, not listen to yourchild’s pleas for assistance in the only way they know how to ask for help – crying
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