“Crying It Out”: Acceptable — or Abuse?

One of the most primitive, innate reactions any mom has is to comfort her crying child. But as we’ve talked about here before, many babies can tolerate — and thrive — with some crying, when their parents thoughtfully decide why and when that might be necessary. That’s why articles like this leave me mystified — more »

Broadening the AP Debate into Vaccinations

We’ve had a lot of action around here regarding Attachment Parenting. The issue doesn’t end at sleep training, babywearing, or extended nursing. It also is smack dab in the middle of one of the most contentious issues in parenting today…the issue of the safety of vaccinations. If you’ve read my posts here for long, my more »

More discussion on the pros and cons of Attachment Parenting

There’s an interesting discussion that’s taking place on several sites simultaneously, and rather than responding to comments down below one of my more recent Attachment Parenting posts, I thought I’d highlight the discussion here, since lots of us are interested. Many of us are confused when we read parenting advice by “gurus” like Dr. Sears more »

Is “Attachment Parenting” Bad for the Child?

Dear Dr. Heather, Does breastfeeding past 2 years of age encourage dependency? I know a child who is still breastfeeding and has become very whiny and attached to her mother. The mother is making no effort to wean the child. Is this type of emotional attachment healthy for the child? She still wakes up to more »