Just last week I attended a seminar on parenting, building relationships and emotional communication and as part of my graduate work in child development, specializing in infancy. It was quite informative and I have attached my personal notes here. ( also includes practical info on educating parents) The message was that there are biological roots as well as psychological and discretionary elements in terms of parenting. Infant brain development is an primary component. The ways in which babies develop and what their needs are should be at the forefront of the discussion. We have a lot more information on that now than ever. Cultural practices overlay our biological origins, but do not replace or negate them. In other words, there ARE optimal elements in parenting. While respecting the wide variety of parenting styles, I do not feel conflicted about presenting information to parents about the ways in which their children develop. Presented this way, the information is usually pretty well received. We now have data to support what used to be theory. As it turns out, much of the theory on attachment is supported by the current data, which is quite gratifying. I think it is important to help parents have current, quality information on which to base their opinions. Joanne McCrory