Attachment parenting is characterized by raising young children using methods that keep the child relatively near, and the parents tend to adapt to the child’s rhythms instead of shaping the child to fit into the adults’ schedule. Parents who practice attachment parenting may allow their children to sleep with them and may choose to allow infants to feed on demand.
An article on attachment parenting was published in Time magazine in May 2012. The magazine printed a shocking cover for the article that showed a three-year-old boy standing on a stool while he breast-fed from his mother. Many US citizens were incensed and outraged by this news.
In your response, address the following:
What does the reaction of US citizens reveal about the US cultural values and beliefs? Do other cultures breast-feed children who are three years or older? Is there some cultural advantage to breast-feeding an older child? What limits does it put on the mother and the child?
Focusing on infants, what are the cultural differences between how infants are transported within and outside the United States? For example, some cultural groups keep their infants in body slings so that when adults go from place to place, infants are almost always in close physical contact. Other groups tend to transport their infants in an external device, such as a stroller.
How does the US culture compare to other cultures in regard to attachment parenting? What are some of the pros and cons in seemingly high attachment parenting versus low attachment parenting cultures?