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Once you become a parent, there is a barrage of information that will hit you, from how to toilet train your child to whether or not to spank. It can be confusing and following your heart may seem like a crazy idea. So how do you decide how you want to parent and what will be best for your child?
Attachment parenting is one way of parenting that has been given such a name because it means being close with our children and following their cues. It is a more non authoritative approach than most traditional ways of parenting.
Spanking is considered an ineffective tool in disciplining and best restricted to stopping dangerous behavior if used at all. Attachment parenting, also known as AP, followers feel that spanking is demeaning to kids and they need more loving guidance to take them into the world as secure adults. Training them to behave according to your beliefs, out of fear, will serve little value to a maturing little person.
Following your child's lead is another way of looking at AP. Children can get frustrated easily and they need their mature parents to help them explore their feelings and how to get along in our world. Watch your children for signs of fatigue, frustration, anger and anything else that seems like a warning sign and you can learn to intercept the situation before your child erupts into disruptive behavior.
Attachment parenting also considers wearing your baby as long as possible a great way to be connected with your child which will continue on as they grow up. Using slings or packs to wear your baby you can approach 40 pounds of baby with them still on you. Disregarding friends advice to use a stroller all the time, wearing your baby can provide valuable quality time as your bodies stay in contact. Your child will always feel safe with you this way as well.
The family bed is another concept of attachment parenting. Since the idea is being close to your children, sharing sleep is just a nighttime continuation of what you do in the daytime.
Breastfeeding goes along with AP since it is body contact and you become well aware of cues your child gives you and you naturally learn to respond of your own instinct.
Many Internet resources are available when seeking information on attachment parenting. Simply using a search engine will reveal many sites.
Not all the different ways of AP'ing your children must be abided by to consider yourself an AP parent. Nothing is ever that concrete in life. The idea is that you are tuned into your children and take them seriously and don't let artificial gadgets and separation come between you and your parenting methods.
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