I found the program interesting as I have only recently discovered attachment parenting. I didn't agree with everything the parents said, but I didn't think they were completely barmy either.
Breast Feeding. I would have no problems with breast feeding my children between 6 months and 2 years (though I would expect to gradually wean them during this time). It's the most natural thing in the world (after sex) and I can't see anything wrong with it. That said, the mother in the program seemed a bit obsessed by the topic. I suppose that the child's comment about how much they were talking about it suggests that this isn't normal for them and was for the benefit of the program.
I don't think I would breast feed much beyond 2 as it seems unnecessary, kids can eat regular food by then and will be spending more time away from mum anyway. But I don't think it is 'wrong' if the mother and child are still comfortable.
I disagreed with restarting breastfeeding with the older girl after she had been weaned though. There would have been ways to reassure her that milk was not the only way to get mum's attention and affection without resorting to allowing her to treat mum as a milking machine.
Co-sleeping.
Again this is something I am considering doing with my children, and I don't see anything wrong with it. I don't remember a lot about it in the program though, and more could have been said to allay the fears of those who have never heard of it before and assoicate it with SIDS.
Having had a dog sleep on the end of my bed as a teenager, I can't see why the cat should be excluded from the family bed if that's what the family and cat like.
Infant Toilet Training Again, I think I might have had an adverse reaction to it if I had never heard of it before. It is odd for those of us who have been brought up on disposibles. I think the producers choose to show up the accidents and anti-social aspects of it, whereas it can be done discretely (like BF).
I think the benefits of it are the kid not sitting in a wet or dirty nappy. I would consider doing it if I was staying at home, with cloth nappies as a nighttime and days out standby.
Home Schooling
I'm actually quite keen on home schooling. With kids at school being tested every five minutes and put under a lot of stress it makes sense. A lot of school work seems to be busy work and training to answer exam questions rather than actual learning. Plus there is a gap between what kids learn and what they need to learn in society - how many kids can do long division but not balance a bank statement or stay out of bad debt.
Home schooled kids can have better access to social life than school kids. Children learn appropriate social behaviour from adults not other children, and they have access to all too few of them in a school environment.
I'm not saying that schooled children can't be brought up as well as home schooled children, but that they don't learn everything from school, and indeed very little that they couldn't learn at home or on outings (which can be daily rather than yearly excursions given the lack of red tape that teachers are wrapped up in).
I think you have to be careful to expose your home educated children to more than your own personal views though (which is perhaps the only benefit of school) and to ensure tha they do get time to socialise with children in shared interest clubs, which is how most adults socialise anyway.
Attachment Parenting isn' for everyone but I don't think that those who do prefer it should be overly criticised for it, they are, like we all are, trying to do the best for our kids. And of course those who appear on TV about it are going to be evangelical and passionate about it.
Attachment parenting is about giving children the security and self belief that they will need to walk independantly in the 'real world' not about fostering dependance on parents.
Live and let live, hey?