Honey I suckle the kids on Living tonight at 9

[icapturethecastle]

I did a quick search and see it has been discussed before on mumsnet a few years ago but I thought people might be interested to watch - it is about attached parenting. No doubt making fun as they always are. I do find these docos interesting even if they often pick the most crazy extreme people. While I am on this subject has anyone seen the movie Away they go - with Maggie Gyllenhaal character's continuum house.

Watching it now. Drivel.

Watching it now too.
I now feel like a terrible mother as I have a cot. A prison apparently....

I guess I fall into the "attachment parenting" camp - extended breastfeeding (nearly 2), co-sleeping until about 20 months, home birth (not planned though!) - but I'm not sure I'd like to hang around with these people - watching birth videos, ew.

What IS attachment parenting?

Actually not watching now but recording (DH has won with Ramsey)!! My understanding of attachment parenting is carrying the baby in a sling, co-sleeping extending breastfeeding etc - I think all based on the continuum concept www.continuum-concept.org/. I think a lot parents do this now (well some of it) without labelling it attachment. But I do find any programme about child rearing quite interesting - well depending on how loony the people are!

It's the skew of the 'documentary' that I object to. Extreme close ups of the ebf mother feeding her children seem salacious to me. And I am a bit jealous of the elimination communication parents (disposables in this house plus massive guilt) and yet they're all presented as looneys.

The home educating dad is coming over as a sanctimonious twat, imo. Yes, there are lots of us who'd love to home ed our kids, but when you have to work full time to keep a roof over their heads, it's not really an option is it?

I watched a bit of it. I think I am attatchment parenting but not because I set out to do so. I am just doing what feels right. I used a sling mostly because my daughter hated the pushchair, wanted to be close to me all the time and share a bed too (dd is 2 btw). I agree with the bloke who said he felt it weird to put a tiny baby in a seperate room alone - I felt like that too. I had problems bf but who knows if I'd still be doing it if it had worked out!! It is hard doing things this way as you get hardly any freedom but it feels right to me.

i have seen this programme before - im sorry but it grossed me out

I was at a breastfeeding class the other day, and we were told that extended breastfeeding is of NO nutritional benefit to the child, as the mum's hormones etc have gone back to normal, so the milk isnt of the same quality as it was at the beginning.

Just saying.

Does anyone know if its on again? I missed the first 1/2 :(

strawberry, apologies, I meant of no additional nutritional value, ie it doesn't stay at a high quality after a while. I also think she was meaning bfeeding a 3yo or whatever - a 16 month old is still young

It's on again on Sunday (7th Nov) at 6pm Mibby. I've Sky plussed it!

Thanks littlenuttree

I think it would be nice to see this programme going back for an update in a few years time to see how these toddlers turn out, especially the USA parents who never tell their precious lovely daughter off or disapline in any way. The parents always say this is the 'right way' to parent with few restraints so I'd just be curious if it does work my children were NOT my best friends {when toddlers} and I love them with my life...BUT they do need guidlines and boundaries and have now both grown up to be well balanced,polite, hard working, law abiding adults who make me proud, who both had buggies and were both told off if they misbehaved. I'm not against home schooling either but most of these home schooled kids on T.V. seem to miss out on peer company, live in a very secluded place and only seem to have their siblings for company because the parents don't want them to be corrupted from the 'outside' world. I love my documentaries esp 'lifestyle' and real life and from what I view i give my opinion.. maybe the producers need to give a more balanced view or re-visit in a few years time.

Salsmum - I agree with you about the boundaries and guidelines but I do think that you can still do that without "telling off" as such. There is no need for shouting or aggression of any form. I think the phrase they used in the programme was "positive discipline" which is encouraging those behaviours you want. I am very much in favour of this and try to use it as much as possible, telling her what I do want her to do rather than what I don't. I have a lovely, well behaved toddler who very rarely has tantrums or misbehaves.

Sam, I think your last sentence is WHY you don't need to tell off your toddler, as opposed to being as a result of your positive discipline.

If you had a child like mine - who is sometimes just plain naughty (and ignores any positive requests to do something else) - there's no option but to tell him off!

I watched this programme. I was really grateful that I was never tempted to try any of these things.
I did wonder at what stage the children would come to realise that they're not really the centre of the universe, so I agree with Salsmum, it would be interesting to see a followup ,or even a series of followups.

vmcd28, whoever told you breastmilk doesn't remain 'high quality' after a certain time, and that hormones somehow decrease the quality of breastmilk was talking tosh. Colostrum and breastmilk are different.

But breastmilk from a woman with a 2 week old baby and from that woman 2,3, 4 years down the line is still the same 'quality'- although it will differ in certain aspects (immunological components depending on what the woman/child have come into contact with, and it will vary according to how hot the weather is, for example).

Bit worrying that this came at a breastfeeding class- who/what organisation was running it?

Coldcomfort, it was an NHS breastfeeding class.

Oh dear- how depressing! I expect it's all done and dusted now but if you bump into the teacher/leader person again it'd be very interesting to see what piece of research she got her 'facts' from.

To be fair, I can't find much info online to support either argument! :)

vmcd28 My sister is a breastfeeding expert for her local NHS Maternity unit.She trains Doctors, Midwives and health visitors to give the right advice and support to Bfing mothers. Her advice to me was that the World Health Organisation advise breastfeeding until 2 years old for the full health benefits. Still has a lot of immunity in it. My whole family caught a nasty tummy bug recently. We were all really ill with it except my 18 month old (who is still feeding) Nutritionally it is just as good as cows milk. Though obviously they need to eat a varied diet as well at this age.

My sister would 'do her nut' at that advice!

xx

Pasty, thanks for the info - it's good when there's medical opinion to back it up.

BUT, as I said earlier, I think she was referring to older than that - eg 3yo or older.

Thanks for the info, tho - it's weird how there's so little advice on this particular topic.
x