On Mon, Oct 6, 2008 at 2:16 PM, Susan Johnson <[log in to unmask]>wrote:

>
> I find little value in drawing walls to define
> breastfeeding/nursing/attachment parenting since the walls are arbitrary
> and, well, walls.  I see no purpose in erecting definitions that divide
> people unnecessarily.
>
> What makes more sense to me is to talk about specific practices, specific
> needs, specific traits.  Directing attention to behaviors, practices, and
> needs makes it easier for all of us to discuss the ways mothers, fathers,
> and children are together -- or not.
>
>
Actually, it was after my third child that I learned what AP was. Years
before I had kids I had friends doing the AP spectrum. In one example, I saw
how wonderful it was that she could hold her child, get things done, and
breastfeed with little interruption. I saw her as a mother, a great example
to follow, not an "AP" mom. I remember some people making comments like,
"why does she have to carry her baby everywhere?" as if it were a problem. I
didn't see where the problem was. I saw a win-win situation. I later knew
other moms, and again, didn't realize that they were AP. They were just
moms, in the real world, nurturing their babies. I wonder if these moms I
refer to cringe when they hear the AP label, just like people who were
"green" long ago now cringe when they hear the "green" label now. It's not
that they don't like that others are embracing principles they have used for
years, it's just that they didn't do it because it was trendy. They did it
because it made sense. And often labels such as AP, crunchy, ezzo,
parent-led, CIO, etc, is often done in that trendy elitist context and it
turns me (and many others) off (and by the way, I am friends with many
people who have labelled themselves as such). We need to see a person as a
whole, as there are many things that lead to certain behaviors. Sure, not
thinking it out may be a factor, but as Susan (and others also suggested),
there are better ways to address that.

-- 
Renata Mangrum, MPH, RD. (who never fit into the set crowds in school, etc.
and if she had to put a label on herself, would hope it would fit into
"independent", not from her kids, but in thinking).
http://nurturingnotes.blogspot.com
http://infantfeedinghistory.blogspot.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/renatamangrum

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