The year in celebrity attachment parenting
Attachment parenting is a philosophy that is based on certain nurturing parenting practices in order to create strong emotional bonds which help the child develop secure, empathic, peaceful, and enduring relationships. These practices include natural childbirth, home birth, stay-at-home parenting, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, babywearing, cloth diapering, homeschooling/unschooling, not circumcising, not vaccinating, natural health, and support of organic food and other products. It’s not necessary to subscribe to all of these practices but many hardcore APers do. (For example, many women breastfeed, wear their babies, co-sleep, eat organic when possible but delivered in a hospital with an epidural.)
The things that celebrities say and do can clue us in to their parenting style. Here are a few quotes we posted about this year.
Co-sleeping
Angelina Jolie told Esquire magazine:
Rightnow, Pax is sleeping in our bed. It’s kind of nice, him immediatelyknowing and feeling comfortable with us. Mad slept with meuntil Brad and I got together. They’re fun to sleep with. We havefamily sleep on Sundays. Everybody sleeps together.
New Zealand model Kylie Bax told Woman’s Day magazine, after the birth of her second child, Dione Nefeli, "We have four people in the bed now!" (Her other child is daughter, Lito, 3.)
Kevin Kline, his wife Phoebe Cates, and their children, Owen, 16, and Greta, 13, still share a bed. He told OK! Magazine,
There is a theory that a child has to teach itself to go to sleep, andif every time it cries, you whisk them out of their bed — the jury isstill out on that. But our kids still sleep in our bed.
Cloth diapering
The following celebrities cloth diaper their children…
- Singer Dave Matthews — son August Oliver. Dave has also spoken on the issue.
- Actors Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard — daughter Ramona — uncle Jake Gyllenhaal has spoken about his niece’s diapers.
- CSI: NY actress Anna Belknap cloth diapers her daughter.
- Singer and actress couple Brad and Kimberly Williams-Paisley cloth diaper their son William Huckleberry.
- Numb3rs actress Diane Farr cloth diapers her sonBeckett Mancuso.
- Model and actress Josie Maran uses gDiapers with her daughter Rumi Joon.
Babywearing
For the year in celebrity babywearing, click here.
Breastfeeding
For the year in celebrity breastfeeding, click here.
Home/water/natural childbirth
For the year in celebrity natural childbirth, click here.
For more information on attachment parenting, visit Attachment Parenting International and Nine In Nine Out and read Dr. William Sears’ The Attachment Parenting Book : A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Baby.
- Posted on Dec 25, 07 at 3:42PM
- Permalink
- 19 Comments
December 25th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Isn’t co-sleeping dangerous, though? Babies could accidentally get smothered. I like the idea of co-sleeping, but I would never co-sleep with a baby. Maybe a 3-year-old, but not a baby.
Note from Danielle, CBB Publisher and occasional co-sleeper: Co-sleeping is practiced very safely by a good portion of the world outside of North America, Europe and Australia and for thousands of years. While it’s true that some modern bedding may not be safe, if proper precautions are taken, proponents feel that the family bed is safer for an infant or child than sleeping in a crib.
Co-sleeping is safe when:
-baby is kept on his back
-neither adult smokes
-neither adult is taking drugs or drinking (because it impedes judgment and awareness of the child in the bed)
-neither parent is exhausted from sleep deprivation (which lessens awareness of the baby and arousability from sleep)
-neither adult is obese
-the bed is firm (pillowtops are not good for co-sleeping)
-bedding is not plush
-heavy blankets and pillows are not used
-the bed is not a waterbed or a couch or chair
-the baby is not left unattended
-there are no other children in the bed with an infant under 9 months
Other tips include:
-use a queen or king size bed
-place baby next to mother instead of between mother and father
-put bed against a wall or use a guardrail that is flush against the mattress
-don’t overdress the baby
Benefits include bonding, letting parents get more sleep, ease of breastfeeding, and protects against SIDS because the parent is right there if anything happens- mother and baby’s sleep harmonize and mothers frequently awaken when baby awakens.
For more information on safe co-sleeping, visit http://www.askdrsears.com/html/7/t071000.asp.
December 25th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
Kyle Bax is a New Zealand Model not Australian
December 25th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Great post. I love hearing about AP celeb moms, since they encourage other mothers to try things they might not have considered (breastfeeding,cloth diapering, etc) As a new mom myself, I loved “Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child” by Katie Allison Granju. She also has a blog.
December 25th, 2007 at 6:32 pm
Danielle, you are so awesome! Thanks for all these great posts! I hope we see even more celebrities babywearing, breastfeeding and talking about AP in the new year. Happy Holidays to everyone at CBB!
December 25th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
AP is wonderful!
December 25th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
How exactly is not vaccinating related to attachment parenting, or helping a child develop secure relationships? Most pediatricians or physicians would approve of AP for the most part, but not vaccinating is strongly against medical consensus. I’ve never heard of it named as a part of AP.
I also have to agree with the other comments of praise. It’s wonderful to see babywearing, co-sleeping and cloth diapers featured on here without ridicule of the parents’ characters. It’s not really the norm in modern Western culture, so parents who do these things are often the target of needles criticism. Well done CBB.
December 26th, 2007 at 12:13 am
i really appreciate these articles on babywearing, homebirthing & attachment parenting. thank you for putting this info out there to your readers who may be considering any of these choices. as a fairly “hardcore” ap mom, i subscribe to every practice you’ve mentioned & it’s been an amazing journey so far & i wouldn’t change a thing. i advocate most of the time to anyone who will listen!
December 26th, 2007 at 1:41 am
I heart this site. Attatchment parenting is where it’s at. It’s so ironic how doctors say things like co-sleeping is dangerous, but don’t have anything to back that up. They also think homebirthing is reckless, and can’t back that up either. Every time I see or hear of a celebrity homebirthing, cloth diapering, breastfeeding or co-sleeping it makes my heart happy-it isn’t just for hippies folks
December 26th, 2007 at 8:07 am
am i the only one who thinks it is odd kevin kline & his wife sleep with their teenage children????
December 26th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Hooray for CBB for posting this! How exciting. I wanted to mention that Attachment Parenting International establishes 8 Principles for AP, which absolutely DO NOT include home birth, breastfeeding, eating organically, not vaccinating, practicing natural health, homeschooling, or cloth diapering. In fact, they are very broad. One principle is, “Prepare for pregnancy, birth, and parenting.” Another is, “Feed with love and respect.” It’s easy to point to certain markers like co-sleeping and wearing your baby and use them to define attachment parenting, but the most important aspects, in my opinion, are less visible. These include being tuned in to and responding to your baby’s needs & cues consistently, as well as avoiding separation from your baby as much as possible, and when you must be away from your child, leaving him or her with a loving caregiver that he or she has bonded to. Now that I have a toddler, I am learning lots about the “gentle discipline” facet as well. Anyways, you can see the attachment parenting philosophy at http://www.attachmentparenting.org/support.shtml
I do understand why all those other things were mentioned, as in my experience people who practice attachment parenting often make many of those choices as well.
Thanks again, CBB!!!
December 26th, 2007 at 10:19 pm
I have to mention that although I am not totally against home birth..I know through having 3 very different births..There are no guarantees in life..and that 5 minute ride to the hospital could mean the difference between life and death for your baby..I read a very interesting article titled, “Home Birth is Very Natural, But So Is Death” in a magazine that drove it home for me..I just lost a baby last year..And after being involved with many women who had still births some for exactly this reason because of a cord accident or last minute placental abruption.. I can’t say that I totally condone it.. I know it is a person’s choice to choose the method in which they deliver their child..And all the power given to you for that..I know for the most part these births are safe. But I myself, knowing even the slight risks associated with it, I am not willing to take any chances with my babies lives.
December 27th, 2007 at 1:34 am
Terralyn:
These terrible things can happen whether you’re at home, or in a hospital.
December 27th, 2007 at 2:59 am
Hey!!!
Your blog is really good.
I like to read what you put up here.
Its interesting to know that you make mom and dads so special. Hope you keep posting something like this again and again and again..
So whats going to be put up here at New years day!!!
Meanwhile, do visit this intersting posts :
http://www.goodparenting.co.in/parenting/how-to-help-chidren-grow-mentally-physically-and-spiritually/
Happy new year in advance!
December 27th, 2007 at 4:08 am
But Terralynn, babies and mothers can die at a hospital.Also, not every hospital is great or healthy..I’ve been to a few hospitals where people laugh when they hear your doctor’s name but they are well known for being a horrible doctor all over the state, so try to think about stuff like that before saying you judge people who have or decide to have home births cause at the end of the day, it’s their decision, not ours.
December 28th, 2007 at 12:39 am
16 and 13 and still sleeping in the same bed as their mother and father?! What happens when they get married, their spouses jump in the bed at night, too?? Things like this are what has gone wrong with this country and taught people that they don’t ever have to grow up or accept any responsibility. We’re a nation for of freaking Peter Pans.
December 28th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Hi! I am so happy to see the comments about AP and co-sleeping. Attachment Parenting International (API) has a couple of pages about their Principles and safe co-sleeping practices.
To read more about the Principles click here and scroll down a bit:
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/support.shtml
For API’s guidelines for safe co-sleeping click here:
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/cosleepwork.shtml
There is a difference between “natural family living” and attachment parenting. Often times a lot of parents that practice AP follow more natural family living practices such as the ones mentioned about birth, vaccinations, cloth diapers, organic foods, etc. However, as one person pointed out, those practices aren’t necessary focused on “attachment” and attachment theory.
This is a good article written by one of API’s co-founders:
http://www.attachmentparenting.org/artattachcycle.shtml
Here’s another one written by someone else:
http://www.psychology.sunysb.edu/attachment/online/inge_origins.pdf
As for homebirth, we had a hospital birth with our first one and a homebirth with our second. We had a great, safe birth for our second but I will be the first to admit that it’s not for everyone. If a mama or papa is worried about the safety of the birth then it will be a more difficult process. A mama should birth where she feels safe and for some mamas that’s at home and for some it’s in a hospital. My wish is simply that all women have the right to choose where they have their baby enter the world. A lot of states ban or heavily restrict homebirthing and that’s the shame of it all if you ask me.
December 29th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I understand your reasoning as well..I had natural birth with two of my boys in the hospital..The thing that I worry about is yes a midwife is trained to deal with the birth itself..With little complications..But in the end if something were to go wrong she did not train as intensely or for the duration a OBGYN has..
And she cannot perform surgery in your home..you have to be airlifted or rushed to hospital..Yes people die in hospital as well..
But if there was a simple surgery to get your baby out faster and save them in that 5 minute time frame?
Would you not take it..?
I agree to disagree on this issue..and i understand your argument..but I am doubtful because of it that you have lost a baby or that you know what is entailed in that..That may be where my argument lies..and why I feel very strongly about this issue
But I support your right to choose..I just think people should consider all the options and risks..
In the end the most important thing to me is that you have a healthy baby and know you have done everything you could of to bring them safely into the world..
January 3rd, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Hello,
I just wanted to mention that the Origins of AP are not publicized but there is much false info on where it came from. I researched it and wrote a whole article on it here:
Attachment Parenting Revealed
March 17th, 2009 at 10:20 am
As far as homebirthing goes, I respect everyone’s choice in the matter, I want to have the right to choose what I feel is right for my family as well. But after witnessing my sister’s homebirth in particular, imho, that was the most reckless, selfish thing I have ever seen. I’ll place blame on the lay midwives and this unborn child’s parents equally. The parents are paying for some experience and the midwives, imho, did not deliver. These people were not prepared in case of a more serious emergency than they were already experiencing. After 5 healthy deliveries in different hospitals they chose to start homebirthing and I am in shock as to what the experience was suppose to be and how it was praised to be so different and better. In my opinion about this birth (and I know there all sorts of stories and opinions, but see this is my sister and my niece)I can not believe they forfeited any and all medical technology for the mom and the baby, for an experience that could have been duplicated in the hospital with family support and planning. I’ve seen it for myself how this woman can have a natural delivery in the hospital, and have a good one. I saw no difference, or actually, I saw this to be much worse. I agree with those who want to avoid a c-section, that’s understandable, but I know(because I’ve seen it) those who are determined just make better plans but not forfeit themselves or their babies. I already know some one will comment on my perspective being this way due to “this” delivery (and I understand why people choose it because of their hospital deliveries being horrific)but my perspective is my perspective and this is my sister, my niece. thank you.