The Bebefits Of Attachment Parenting Style

Attachment parenting is the most beneficial parenting style for both babies and their parents. There is a surprisingly large controversy on whether or not parents should practice attachment parenting. If you are unfamiliar with attachment parenting, it is when either both of the parents or one practices safe co-sleeping, baby wearing, breastfeeding, and quick responses to babies cries. People who are against the practice of attachment parenting exist due to a lack of understanding on what it actually involves.

There are so many different parenting styles, and since every child is different it ensures that parenting will not be one size fits all. Although there are many recommendations on attachment parenting that it is beneficial for not only children, but for their parents as well. Parents should practice attachment parenting because it helps decrease stress, it strengthens the parent's and infant's bond, and can help improve an infant's health.

Most controversies towards co-sleeping are misunderstandings. When talking about co-sleeping, many people assume it means taking a child and just throwing them into bed with you at night. This is not the case; co-sleeping is not only bed sharing, it is also room sharing. What most people do not understand about co-sleeping is that they need to babyproof and the baby needs to sleep on their back. A couple of important steps to safely co-sleep are all fluffy blankets and pillows need to be kept away from the infant as well as stuffed animals. The bed needs to be firm and to be pulled away from anything the infant could be trapped between, such as the wall or a dresser should they fall off the bed. These are just a couple of the precautions that need to be taken, but many parents who think they have an understanding for co-sleeping, do not do any research and that is when problems arise. Some benefits of co-sleeping are that the baby will learn to rouse themselves at night, regulate their breathing, and regulate their body temperature. Hospitals are working to phase out having infant nurseries except in cases where a baby needs to go to the neonatal-intensive care unit or NICU. They are trying to make the hospital more baby friendly by assisting new moms in an easier transition from the hospital to going home. Baby friendly hospitals are meant to help encourage breastfeeding. This shows that the medical field has done research showing it is more beneficial for a baby to room in with their mother. Co-sleeping helps new moms keep up their breastfeeding journey longer, so they do not have to completely wake in order to feed and take care of their baby. They are able to reach nearby or pull their baby closer to them in their bed and may feed them lying down. This increases the amount of sleep parents are able to get without constantly running in and out of their own bedroom to retrieve their baby. If education on the benefits of co-sleeping was given, fewer parents would have their children sleeping in separate rooms. Babywearing Babies who are worn, have been proven to cry less frequently than babies who are not. “Hunziker and Garr are researchers who found that babywearing for three hours a day reduced infant crying by 43 percent overall and 54 percent during evening hours. ”

Another benefit is when held close to their mother, she can more easily recognize early signs of hunger without the baby needing to cry. This awareness of a baby’s needs makes for more confident parents and a closer bond as well. Many parents complain that babywearing causes them back problems, the solution to this is to try different types of baby carriers. There are different methods to wearing a baby as well as different styles of carriers. There are special carriers that are designed to not only be comfortable for a baby, but for their parents who may be wearing them for hours. Babywearing is convenient because it is easier to navigate with a small infant attached to an adult in comparison to toting around a stroller and hoping everywhere is stroller accessible. Breastfeeding holds many benefits for an infant. The saying “breast is best” is not a way to shame parents who choose to formula feed, but is to help encourage breastfeeding. One benefit is that breastfeeding during or after immunizations decreases pain for the infant. Studies were all conclusive in the fact that young infants who were breastfed cried for a shorter amount of time than those who were soothed in another way. While discussing nursing a child to sleep, Doctor Narvaez states “Nursing and cuddling to sleep offers comfort for your child, a closeness that is associated with positive developmental outcomes. ” There have been studies done showing that breastfeeding an infant for at least one month, can help decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome by 50%. Although this is only one of the benefits of breastfeeding, it is also one of the most important. Breastfeeding can reduce the risks of a child suffering with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, leukemia, and childhood obesity.

There have been many studies done to show the benefits of attachment parenting techniques. The majority of the studies and advertisements against attachment parenting leave out the details on how the parents were not correctly doing attachment parenting. Attachment parenting helps prevent an infant’s stress because they don’t cry as often, it will strengthen their bonds with their parents since they are constantly close to them, and help will teach them trust when they learn they are able to count on their caregivers.