To wonder if this is what people mean by gentle parenting

[pleasemothermay1]

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3699191/Outrage-parents-allow-child-toilet-Morning-floor.html

Not sure why a one year old wouldn't have a nappy on as she clearly is not Notts trained at that age my one year old would be become destressed to be constantly wet

And what's the no medication about surely social service would become involved if they got very ill and parents did noting

Very odd

I can't reconcile their philosophies with their desire to engage with mainstream media outlets.

They are either clueless or they are cynically trying to profit from this. The go fund me page makes me think it's the latter. I also think the many photos of their DS breastfeeding is an invasion of his privacy.

[re: 'strewing'] When I was growing up and when my dc were small, their was a technique called common sense.

Yes I agree! :o I read about strewing the other week and thought well... we do that. Duh. (My DCs aren't unschooled, by the way, we have a bit of structure for core subjects in particular, and lots of projects/topic work which can be chosen by us or the DCs, in response to questions they ask etc.)

I only mentioned the 'technique' as others were talking about how unschooling could possibly work and not limit the child's experience - it can work well, I think, but I think while some unschoolers are very passionate about providing lots of inspiration, opportunities etc, I do also know some unschoolers who reject even that as it's not child led enough. I can't personally get on board with the latter, and it's definitely not the norm in our local HE community (our approach is pretty average round here).

I like that the DM article randomly starts calling her Emma at one point.

Good luck to them trying to cure cancer by natural means.

They parent more thoughtfully than most, and have clearly done their research. I don't agree with most of their conclusions but at least they are thinking instead of blindly following.

Australia is closer to an ozone layer hole from memory, hence higher rates of skin cancer. Nowt to do with suntan lotion.

Parent more thoughtfully than most?

Yes. As in, many decisions that most of us make without doing a huge amount of research into, they think about first.

Yes. As in, many decisions that most of us make without doing a huge amount of research into, they think about first.
Like the fact that vaccination in Costa Rica is compulsory.

Yes, they do put a lot of thought into it, maybe a bit too much. It's like they're treating the kids as some sort of vanity project and making it all about them. What used to put me off the idea of Home Ed was that I thought the DCs must be very isolated but people pointed out that most Home Edders regularly meet with others, go on outings together etc.
Ulysses does seem to spend nearly all his time with his parents which most kids would find a bit suffocating.
And saying that meningitis can be cured by fasting???!!
Meningitis can cause brain damage or kill in hours. So she wouldn't call an ambulance, she'd just light some candles and tell him to skip his (quinoa and mung bean) lunch?
Okaaay....

I didn't make any major decisions concerning my children without huge amounts of research, actually. Not all that many people do...
It's just the conclusions I came to weren't as fucking nuts as theirs.

at least they are thinking instead of blindly following

They're not thinking critically at all. Not vaccinating is opposed to huge reams of solid, decades long scientific research - they are blindly following a few idiots on the web.
Lotus births - idiocy, again from a small fringe of folk against plenty of scientific evidence
They are fools. Which would be fine if it was just them but they are putting their kids at risk.

To say they are parenting more thoughtfully is... Hmmm...

Not all thought is equal. Parenting thoughtfully by researching options and looking for evidence etc. is one thing but 'Parenting thoughtfully' by looking up nutcase ideas and following them despite research and evidence against them is not the kind of thinking to aim for.

I think most of us do parent thoughtfully.
We research various things often before pregnancy and all the way through their childhood.
We make informed decisions based on evidence we find, and generally we don't go with our feelings unlike these two.
We don't sign and ask for others to sign petitions that mention a discredited doctor, and halfway down seaworld.
We don't leave serious health conditions to be cured with a few herbs and plants. because if these really did cure cancer, infections, meningitis, asthma or any other potentially fatal illness we would all be doing this. However, sadly it isn't the case.

I completely agree, I just approve of the process of thinking and questioning. Having the ability to critique info is different of course. But I have many friends who didn't look into vaccinations at all, whose only thought process regarding schooling was which was closest and how was its Ofsted. Following the path as it were.

One thing that really caught my eye was the fact that their parenting method seeks to be, among other things, 'unconventional'. I'm not so keen on the idea of striving to be different. That seems a bit unnecessary, like it's just trying to be different for the sake of being different/making a point. Which really is just conforming to a different set of rules, so as to fit in with the minority group. Rather than just genuinely doing what you feel is best.

I wonder how many people here are grossed out by her BFing her 5yo, yet feed their own children (and their adult selves!) milk from cows. Why is one 'weird', and one perfectly acceptable?

I suppose for those people (I don't agree with them, it doesn't gross me out) it would be more akin to feeding your child milk directly from the cow's udder.

But to advocate for that nutso devil, the media probably doesn't show pictures of her breastfeeding the one year old as that's normal so its not going to get viewers like a picture of a five year old breastfeeding will.

www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0908/09082801

I'm not grossed out by her breast feeding. As the article above states, people have been drinking cow's milk for over 7000 years. It's not obtained by sucking directly from a cow's teat either.

Whilst i completely agree it's weird for society to accept cows breast milk unreservedly (to the point many people don't even realise that's what it is) whilst being grossed out by BM surely it's common sense that it's because in this society drinking cows milk is very common and culturally expected/ accepted whereas BF a 5 yO is not

Cultural norms do not make the majority automatically right. It makes them conditioned.

Would those objecting to her BFing her 5yo feel better if she was expressing then giving it to him in a cup? Why is a cow pumped via machine more acceptable than a mother feeding her human child directly from source?

... feed their own children (and their adult selves!) milk from cows.

What do you think our adult selves should pour on our Cornflakes? And if it is OK for us adults to drink cows milk (and it definitely is part of our culture) then surely it is OK for 5 year olds. While breast milk is perfect for babies, and formula is formulated to be as close as possible to breast milk, neither is necessary for a 5 year old. So, no I think it would be crazy to express human milk for a 5 year old.

Yes they are conditioned. I'm not saying they're not. That's the point of cultural norms. However, it is easy to understand them surely?

Ie- you know full well why one is "weird" and one is "acceptable"

Wow I don't know where to start here. They are behaving totally irresponsibly on many level, and downright dangerous. Refusing medical intervention, relying on woo therapies instead, no midwife assistence!

Children need to know where they stand, and need boundaries, be a parent fgs! A child that age does not need breastfeeding, especially on demand which he still does like a baby, express the milk!

I think that outside of the closeted world of MN lots of people parent without much thought. To be honest now that I am in my sixth I probably don't think that much. I also rely on gut instinct as it tends to be right.

I am surprised at the pearl clutching over breastfeeding on here.

www.nature.com/news/archaeology-the-milk-revolution-1.13471

Would those objecting to her BFing her 5yo feel better if she was expressing then giving it to him in a cup? I don't object to her bfeeding her five year old. People make choices. It's not possible for most women in a full time job to directly breast feed two children. People need to go out to work to earn money to support their families. Adele Allen has the luxury of being at home and is in a position to breast feed two children.
and wants £100,000 from other people to pursue 'her dream'