OK, I gotta join the bandwagon and talk about the TIME magazine article on extended nursing and attachment parenting.
Here's my review. I'm disappointed.
TIME put a provocative photo of a woman breastfeeding her toddler on their cover. A stool was used to make the (already large) toddler look even taller, he was dressed in "mini adult" clothing (camo cargo pants), and is giving the camera a look that's expected from a young teenager. The mom has a slightly blank but slightly defiant look on her face, as though she is daring someone to challenge her for having a child at the breast. TIME admits here (http://lightbox.time.com/2012/05/10/parenting/#1) that they intentionally put him up on a stool to "make him look older." Also at that link is a set of other pictures that were taken during the photo shoot- every other photo, in my opinion, is a more appropriate reflection of nursing. Even nursing a toddler.
At first I was grateful to see that TIME was tackling what has become not only an issue that I am personally facing, but also one that negatively distinguishes the US from other modern countries (breastfeeding, extended breastfeeding, and breastfeeding support).
After seeing the photo, their reasoning behind the photo they chose, their other options, and the article that was written, I'm just disappointed.
The actual article in TIME doesn't mention more than a few sentences about extended breastfeeding, yet that's what's depicted on the cover. The article is about Dr. Bill Sears, the attachment parenting guru. It discusses how he came to his beliefs regarding childcare. It talks about his upbringing, his kids, his beliefs, and how he is big on endorsements. He has a beachfront house in California to show for all of that.
As an "accidental" attachment parent, wherein I discovered attachment parenting after I accidentally fell asleep with my baby next to me in bed while nursing, and desperately did research to see how likely I was to have rolled over on top of her. I found the less-published information regarding the interactions during sleep between exclusively breastfeeding moms and their infants. Under certain circumstances, co-sleeping can, based on the statistics that we are able to draw, be just as safe as crib sleeping (these include things like not smoking, exclusively breastfeeding, no siblings in bed, firm mattress in appropriate position (not near walls or with a gap at the headboard, no pillows, minimal to no covers, no use of alcohol or sedatives, and non-obese parents). I also found Dr. Sears' website, and discovered this whole attachment parenting concept, and it just makes sense to me. I have since done more reading about it, and do my best to integrate attachment parenting techniques into my life.
But I still own a stroller. And turns out my baby girl happens to enjoy walks in the stroller. She sits up and looks around and sings. I also own a baby carrier. And ultimately, which one I use depends on how I feel about carrying around a 22 lb baby that day, how much my back hurts, and what kind of mood baby girl is in.
I like Miyam Bialik's take on the attachment parenting. In this (http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/11/how-brainy-women-think-about-attachment-parenting/) interview, she says, "The notion that a child’s voice matters, that
every child is different, that’s the basis of attachment parenting."
So TIME, you have disappointed me. As a long-time subscriber, I would have expected better. The photo and the attitude of, "are you mom enough" has only sensationalized the concept of attachment parenting, and sensationalized extended breastfeeding, but has done a poor job of explaining what attachment parenting is or of explaining why some parents choose to adopt the "attachment parenting" concept.
At the same time, the magazine has actually opened the can of worms that is extended breastfeeding. Perhaps even the exposure to a foreign concept will help start to get the word out that breastfeeding toddlers isn't child abuse... AND it allows people like Miyam Bialik to go on CNN and explain things from an educated position...
Overall, I don't think it will make much difference in the breastfeeding world, but it will probably sell magazines.
