Attachment Parenting: A Maternal Masochism Approach?

Harking back to the baby-focused 1970s, attachment parenting refers to the parenting philosophy which recommends near constant contact with an infant, only with a more 21st-century, anti-authority bent. Mothers are encouraged to rely on their instincts rather than trust on professionals' advice, thus, shunning developments that include sleep training and occasionally vaccinations.

Parents were once strongly encouraged to fit the baby into their schedule; an attached mother is of course led by her baby, responding to their demands right away. This attachment parenting approach is a combination of an attitude of enlightenment and a veneration of the distant past according to an article on The New York Magazine. Women, between 25 and 45 years old, will certainly have seen people lauding this attachment parenting approach on social media.

Attachment parenting, much like the trend for wellness and healthy eating, puts forward the idea that the modern world has obviously corrupted what was once pure through its scientific intervention. Rejection of what is known as 'modernity' has definitely become the fundamental 'aspirational' signifier, from 'fetishing' cycling over driving to admiring farmers' markets over supermarkets according to a report on The Guardian.

Developed in the 1980s, attachment parenting was coined by William Sears, an American pediatrician, and his wife Martha, who was a registered nurse. The couple made an inarguable position that loving parental interaction is beneficial to a child.

 Followers emphasize that attachment parenting is not actually about rules, but rather about sustaining a special relationship, built by following specific tenets that includes baby-wearing, long-term breastfeeding, co-sleeping or sharing the parental bed with your child, and always responding to your baby's cry regardless of how tired the mother is. It is not necessary to implement all these, but the Sears encourages parents to work harder to create a special relationship with children.