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

Cecily, I put a variety of plant-based milks on my cereal. Oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk, hemp. All much better for us than bovine excretions. I don't think it is ok for adults to drink the milk of another species, btw.

I put a variety of plant-based milks on my cereal. Oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk, hemp It's good you have the choice but decades ago people did not.

??? Who is talking about decades ago? How is that relevant to now?

People fifty years ago drank cow's milk because that was what was available to them. Children had free school milk because the government wanted to improve nutrition. Now you have vast choices of food compared to then. Just as people can breast feed their children now to whatever age they like. Adele Allen is just one person out of billions on this Earth whose choices are no more significant than anyone else's. She is privileged however to be able to make those choices.

For someone who claims to have a 'foundation degree in science' she doesn't seem to know a lot about it, particularly disease and how diseases are contracted/spread. One of the comments on the DM story (sorry) was from someone who claimed to have known her:

'I went to college with this couple when they were in their early 20s. She was a nice girl, but didn't really understand how science works, e.g. randomised control trials, double-blinding, reviews etc. Once she did a presentation to the class, talking about how cancer was 'a modern disease'....didn't seem that pleased when our lecturer pointed out that cancer has been found in cavemen. She also stated that getting cancer is someone's own fault....when I asked about kids who have cancers, she stated that it was the fault of the parents. She also laughed at me once for buying my fruit from Asda (e.g. not some organic healthfood store). I stopped talking to her after that.'

I don't really get all the shock about the one year old DD peeing on the floor though. She's one, she can't hold it in! Although they could've put a (cloth) nappy on her as they knew they'd be in an unfamiliar environment.

I don't have much respect for parents who parade their DCs around the media simply to publicise themselves - especially as Adele doesn't like being observed. In the last week, they've been interviewed by 2 tabloids and appeared on National television. Quite impressive given mum's fear of the observer effect
I wonder who donated the £47?

I don't object to the extended BFing at all (I fed my second til 2, but if I ever have another baby I've decided I want to let them self wean) but agree with those who have said it is very 'staged' with the multiple Ulysses feeding photos etc (and virtually nothing current where she's feeding Ostara), like it's for shock value/attention and 'look at me, I do this' rather than it just being part of their life. Hard to say how much is the Allens pushing it or the media specifically requesting those photos though.

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I get what you are saying, Cagliostro, but my kind soul wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt hopes maybe they just want to help normalise it, rather than being all me me me. I don't think it's nice for the kid to have his face showing though, not fair to him at all.

theunconventionalparent.co/2016/07/22/natural-living-is-expensive-how-do-we-afford-to-live-this-way/

Well that answers the 'how the fuck do they pay for this shit?' question. Answer: they don't!

They are up to £140 now!

Have they said if Ulysses does any 'after school' activities or group stuff like that?

avocados that post is bullshit tbf. Natural living is actually one of the cheapest ways to live so how they are finding it expensive I have no Idea.

All the usual 'natural living' ideas cost very little. Esp if you follow a zero/low waste/ low impact lifestyle. I know because I do it myself.

Yes, housing and fixed bills - council tax etc are expensive but saving money on fuel, water, food are all part of natural living ethos

If she's only shopping in healthfood stores then yes, her bills will be silly high. I know vegans and natural living advocates who spend an absolute fortune on health supplements, super foods, fancy ingredients that are meant to have cosmic powers

When the truth is you can eat well, naturally, vegan, gluten free or whatever your diet is very cheaply.

It looks like she has bought into the Woo of the supplements and healthfoods and that's why its so expensive and it doesn't need to be.

Hell with a small garden a lot of the herbs she uses she could probably dry her own stores and the homeopathy. Surely dipping a leaf in a big jug of water will suffice?

Its interesting that their careers are very much of the moment and could disappear quite rapidly :/

What does it matter how expensive housing is? They mention housing benefit... Far from living lightly on the earth; they're just playing while the state pays their bills.
And total strangers are expected to put their hands in their pockets too, apparently

Yes, housing and fixed bills - council tax etc are expensive

That's ok- it says in her blog post that they claim benefits to cover all that business. Only 'off-grid' and 'unobserved' when it suits, then.

If she's only shopping in healthfood stores then yes, her bills will be silly

She also states that they shop in budget supermarkets even though they don't agree with their ethics

The pair of them sound like total hypocrites.

They seem to have no financial acumen.

Before they married she was living with her folks. Afterwards the husband decided they should start a new life and business in Australia. They came home, broke and pregnant after 3 months. In and around this time was a children's yoga business back in the UK which failed.

Then she started revealing her plans for an unassisted birth. Reading between the lines her parents went batshit. She's not in contact anymore.

After the birth she decided she couldn't go back to work as she needed to be on tap till breastfeeding ended. So they probably are broke to be fair as I doubt he earns much.

This off grid is bollocks. They are receiving state handouts, buying food, using electricity, water and sewerage. At the very least I'd expect them to have a couple of allotments.
The main problem with these people is not vaccinating their dcs. How irresponsible not just to the community, but their dcs! They were probably vaccinated by their parents. I can't think of how unkind it is not to allow their dcs pain relief. Awful, awful self promoting, negligent, careless people. So irresponsible to neglect their dcs health like they do! Diphtheria and polio are real. What happens if God forbid one of their dcs get cancer. They'll be so single minded to prove their ideas the mother says she'll refuse treatment! This has made me angry as they are putting themselves first and exploiting their dcs.

Where did you find all that out, Elspeth!

Yes IKWYM Red :) I hope it is that (trying to normalise EBF) too... I'm just not as charitable in my view of them :o

Nice that are 'off grid' yet want the rest of society to financially support them.

Read the blog post. Don't object to people claiming benefits if needed obviously. We are getting HB etc at the moment as DH is on minimum wage and I lost my job through illness (have registered as a self employed tutor instead). I suppose at least they have been upfront about it in that post.

However I don't really see why people would donate to them in return for advice about self sufficiency when they aren't even vaguely self sufficient yet! It seems a bit like me saying I'll write a book about raising teenagers, when my eldest is 9... :o

There are surely lots of other sources about off-grid etc to not need to wait for these people to try it (and quite possibly fail miserably, as many many do)

I'm trying to be chilled, different strokes & all that. But below line made me laugh. After they list the 3 different benefits they are on, & their student loans (which was free money if they never earn enough income). Since they both work PT they are using 2 sets of tax allowance, I suspect they pay no or almost no income tax at all. Yet they want more:

"We are living in a country with an unfair family taxation system that does not support home education."

I'm not overall - well, mainly the anti-vax thing, the no trust in HCPs, homeopathy nonsense, and the begging for cash/shoving their DC in the media spotlight. Though I guess if you don't ask, you don't get, and perhaps they feel that 15 minutes of infamy is worth a shot of having £100k deposited in their bank account to fund a nice long holiday in Costa Rica. I don't really get why they think anyone will fund this for them, and can only imagine they want a tv series, as the general population aren't going to cough up our cash on their dreams.

I'd like to see extended/natural-term BFing supported, home education supported (and understood), encouraging us to grow some of our own food, but I think balance is needed.

What a pair of knobs.

There is no way they will be able to do the Costa Rica thing

Oh I freely admit I devoured their blog late last night on my iPad in bed. My poor DH, lol.

Oh and Costa Rica? It's not them buying a farm in the middle of nowhere- it's for them to join an eco community, already established. WTF do they need £100K for if they're basically going over to join a commune?