Here are the 7 tools of attachment parenting (from THE ATTACHMENT PARENTING BOOK): Birth bonding, breastfeeding, baby-wearing, bedding close to baby, belief in the language value of your baby’s cry, beware of baby trainers, and BALANCE. These are the tools that many parents use to get the most out of parenting. Notice we use the term "tools" rather than "steps." With tools you can pick and choose which of those fit your personal parent-child relationship. Steps imply that you have to use all the steps to get the job done. Think of attachment parenting as connecting tools, interactions with your infant that help you and your child get connected. Also notice that none of these tools were, “don’t go back to work”. Our pediatric practice has many, many attached mothers that were able to stay that way after going back to work. In fact, attachment parenting is especially beneficial to the working mother/baby couple – it helps you two re-connect after the workday. You will be a great mother, who gets to know her baby better than anyone else in this world. Click here for more discussion about attachment parenting.
Dr. Jim