I didn't think you'd be a "crunchy mummy"

[Sparrowlegs248]

Said to me. The reasons they think I'm a "crunchy" mum (whatever the fuck that means). I breastfed both children, with a few days gap in between, for a total of 4.5 yrs. I used a sling. I co slept with both, often still do with the younger (almost 3 yr old). I bake with them sometimes

Reasons I wasn't expected to be "crunchy" I wear "normal" clothes, wear make up, have tidy hair (sometimes) and go to work!!!

I'm a bit perplexed by this, from someone who I thought knew me quite well!

Hmmm. I had two home births, breastfed until almost 3yo, have a variety of carriers and wraps, and I'm a breastfeeding peer supporter.
However, I am not a vegetarian, I wear 'normal' clothes, I didn't use cloth nappies, and I live in a modern housing estate.
Am I crunchy?

Oh, and I can't knit or weave lentils.

its called hippy types here,which we have been called for many years as its the lifestyle we follow(very in the minority where i live which is valleys of south wales)

the home educating, gentle/ attachment parenting we follow/ed,
dont do punishment or rules(that blows peoples minds)

i co slept from birth with the 15 y old,then again when the 9 y old came along( hes still with me) i purposely chose this so didnt buy a mosses basket or cot,they were with me from day 1

we put the kids needs above everything else.neither have ever been in a childcare setting or a babysitter

i never breasfred (couldn't medically)but would have i just did bottle on demand,i refused hvs dor both

i wouldnt sling carry though as baby was way to big from birth,9lb10 and 27 inches and putting on a pound or 2 a week

we are not vegan/vegetarian but cook every thing from scratch,do everything as 4 equal members

used washable nappies and wipes

tbh we never fitted in till we found our home ed group in 2015
as we were always different from everyone but when we joined that group we found people the same minded as us

i then found facebook supports groups

I get called this a lot for, presumably the same reasons. But a key thing for crunchy is apparently anti vax. So I am keen to correct anyone that is making that particular assumption as I am quite pro vaccines and have even worked in a vaccine related role.

I mean sling, breastfeed, veggie but my children are not, organic and second hand clothes reusable whatever i can get, Co sleep, gentle ish parenting. No home ed though for older two. Looking at it for the youngest. But the crunchy mums would never include me locally. Maybe I am too old or two pro vaccine. Either way. The self titled crunchy mums who live nearby definitely wouldn't include me

I didn't realise I'm crunchy till I read this thread.

I breastfed, co slept, sling wore and am vegetarian. Used cloth and eco disposable nappies.

I also home ed, let my children make lots of their own choices and rules, tried unschooling but now I do a mix of unschooling with some structure ( 1.5 hrs per day of me doing lesson or 2, the rest is their own time to structure as they wish.)

My youngest spent 1 night away before the age of 6 and was very attached. Still is, she is 10.5 and I had to go pick her up early from a party last week.

I varied the Vax schedule to suit my children. Won't say I'm anti Vax but not pro Vax either as don't think the chicken pox vax is that effective.

My children do eat granola but also shreddies and Cocoa pops.

I reduce, reuse, recycle and sell everything or give to charity when I'm not using it. Do not have food waste. I buy nice furniture second hand and am very frugal minded. I like luxury items but wait till someone lists it on ebay, poshmark etc.
But I like clothes and accessories, I wear lipstick and eyeliner, I do my hair (mostly).

In the home ed community I usually am one of the nicer dressed mums as I don't think fleece and sweatshirts with jeans mum uniform has appeal. Or the knitted jumper, linen, creased look. Just don't like that style and I do not like dreads on Europeans.

However I firmly believe all should go along at their own speed, their own tune and doing their thing. (As long as it doesn't hurt others.)

Ah, yes, yet another insult and mechanism to tell grown women how to behave. Sometimes the misogyny is indeed in the house.

I'm fairly crunchy (and happy to be called it) - bed share, breastfed until 3.5, baby/toddler wear, practise gentle parenting and I'm vegan raising a vegan child.
And we go to festivals haha.
However I used disposable nappies until my son was day time toilet trained (now cloth for night), i live in a new build estate, watch far too much crap on Netflix while my son plays and eat avocados with hella air miles!
I was raised in a very white middle class conservative village in the Cotswolds and didn't know much different until I moved out of home. I work as a private nanny for millionaires. But my own house is tiny, I have no money and I shop in charity shops. I live both sides!

I'm vegetarian and so are my kids. I'm alternative. I used cloth and organic clothing (Duns, max, frugi etc) didn't co-sleep as I think we all need our own space when we go to bed.

I used to do the whole baking, craft, out on nature walks every day etc etc. Then my ex sexually abused me, messed with my mind so much that I wanted the world to just go black.

Believe me I'm like the opposite of "crunchy now". I'm shouty, stressed, exhausted, drink too much wine mummy and I am sick of my life as "mum" and nothing else.

I think it’s a term used by mothers to put down mothers who are more focussed on their child’s happiness and wellbeing than they are on their own child thereby deflecting any guilt they might feel at putting themselves first.

From what you’ve said I think you are a judgmental as those judging you

My new boss said I looked like a vegan when we first met - and she was right, I am a vegan, so as irritated as I was, she had me bang to rights really. I do look like a 'type' - I cycle to work, I have very short grey hair, don't wear make up, always in my DMs. You would easily slot me into some sort of right-on demographic, though I wouldn't say I was crunchy - I very much rely on medical science, happy for my kids to be educated in mainstream schools, I don't craft anything, though I am learning how to make my own bread this year.

Simple goggle gets this
These natural mamas are all about being eco-friendly, holistic living, are big advocates for natural childbirth and attachment parenting and raise their children to be the same way. In other words, they have kind of a hippie-esque flair to them

I must be crunchy but I'm not veggie either.

You sound like a perfectly normal mother to me!

Sounds like what used to be called an earth mother

'It kind of means, alternate, vegan, make your own clothes, grow your own veg type lifestyle as i understand it.'

Dear God, so breastfeeding, making sure your child is securely attached by keeping them close and doing stuff with them is alternative???

Yeah, stick with the mainstream and raise a nation of psychopaths. Great job.

Crunchy comes from granola as many pps have said, people saying “crusty”- no no no.

“Crusty” is a derogatory term for New Age Travellers, who may well do lots of crunchy parenting things but they also do lots of other very non-conformist things that your average crunchy mum would run a mile from.

Crunchy mums (and dads) in my area tend to be in the higher socio-economic brackets. They have massive cars and can definitely afford petrol but they cycle the DC to school in a wooden half-boat thing attached to the front of a bike. That kind of thing.

@Straycatstrut you’re going to move past this phase and go back to your old self. Take care of yourself

This says a lot about the person who said it rather than you. I’m so glad I’m not normal and that I don’t fit into a category although by this definition I’m definitely a bit crunchy 🤣

Vegan breastfeeding mum but don’t cosleep or use a sling and grow my own veg...what category am I in?!

Pretty low on that scale. Breastfed to 20 months, no plastic toys, have a cot but toddler ends up in our bed, cotton / wool baby clothing, sling but then pram as too heavy

My dh is crunchy as well, but builds high tech circuit boards? Isn't it just a person who prefers eating/living healthy vs eating processed junk put forth by big corporations?

I try to think of life before social media and over-educated greedy bean counters took over and profit over health became the accepted way of life.

Live long and prosper

I must be a crunchy nana then , is there such a term! Not the breast feeding bit anymore though :)

I wasn't particularly offered that she called me crunchy. More that she sees "crunchy" as wrong, odd, she was definitely using it in a derogatory manner, yet was quite happy to apply it to me, her friend. Thereby criticizing me.

I didn't plan to co sleep, the first time at least. I didn't plan to use a carrier, or to breastfeed for so long, or to take ages over doing gradual retreat to get my first to sleep in his cot at 12 months old. Turns out I'm not that keen on hearing them cry. If I can feed/carry/comfort to prevent the upset, that's what I did. If that makes me crunchy, then I'm crunchy.

It's also amusing that my sister is visibly very alternative, yet ticks less of the crunchy mum boxes than I do. She's still fairly crunchy though.