You may be out of the very young child-rearing world at the moment or you may be smack dab emerged in the warzone of parenting styles.
With the arrival of Clay and the never-ending debate of "How long should he sleep?" "How will it affect this evening?" "How can I teach him to sleep well?"...etc, Mom has been doing some research in the past few days that has been tapping her shoulders for years.
So if you are unaware, there is a war zone right now in this culture between two sides "Attachment Parenting" and the "Babywise" approach, otherwise referred to as "Parent-directed Feeding, or PDF, or The Ferber Method."
A war zone is not an exaggeration, as there is name-calling, threats, and accusations on both sides- resulting in what looks very similar to modern republican and democrat bloodbaths on Capitol Hill.
The opinions are so strong, that mom asked me not to state on the site where our family falls in this area, so I am left to say that we are hoping to fall somewhere in the middle. We're going to try to take the good and wise advice from both camps of thought. (Interestingly enough we do the same in politics).
So our family word of caution to those of you who will be having children soon is to read up on both sides of the argument so that you can recognize the bias in materials you will be given by your physicians, read about in breastfeeding literature, or just come across in your average day. If you don't have an educated parenting position in this area, then you are bound to get guilted into one or the other without even knowing it.
I decided to ask Clay about it.I told him that I would list several stements. If he agreed, he was instructed give me a thumbs up. If he disagreed, then he was instructed to baby sign "no way, bro." I asked him "Do you like the parenting style we are curtrently recieving?," "If you were stranded on a desert island for 2 years and you could only take Dr. Sears or Gary Ezzo, which one would you choose?," and "Do you think the Eagles will win tonight?"
Unfortunately, all I got from him was a few burps.
The Elf formerly known as Clay
Mom and I at the Beach
Clay and I
Mom and Clay
3 comments:
Do what works best for the family--If parents' schedules require you to schedule feedings and nap, then go ahead and schedule if it makes for harmony--and if the family is SO flexible that it doesn't matter, than that is fine too. The only important thing (Simeon, I think you will agree) is that you both know for sure that your parents LOVE you and that they bring you up to Love God.!!
So true! Good advice to parents. Pediatricians, and breast feeding experts especially, love to share only one side of the discussion, as if the other doesn't exist.
Burps??? I think he was just answering the Eagles question as they appear to be choking.
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