One of the touchier subjects in natural parenting circles is the issue of male circumcision. It can cause two individuals who agree on every other aspect of parenting to cease speaking or supporting one another. It raises ire amongst those adamant that it’s akin to abuse and defensiveness amongst those who practice the rite for religious purposes.
In this part, we’re going to look at the last piece of pertinent information—viewing the difficult infant as a ‘plastic’ infant—and then finishing with a look at what we can do going forward.
You’ve probably heard it a hundred times. Parents talking about their child and why parenting was so hard: He was just such a difficult baby. It’s supposed to explain the frazzled looks, the endless crying, and every other negative trait we attribute to the baby in question. But does it?
This issue of Re:Birth has articles on the Midwifery Task Force in Ontario in the early 1980s, squatting in labour, episiotomies, rules at the time about fathers being present for c-sections, VBAC support, and birth on TV.
What you’ll read herein is not meant to be a condemnation of any parent who utilizes some of these methods, but rather an examination of certain parenting characteristics that are rather new to society (evolutionarily speaking) that have been empirically associated with a heightened risk of child maltreatment.
As many are aware, and many can contest to, child birth is an amazing part of life; that until you go through it yourself no one can tell you what it is going to be like, how it feels, or what to expect.
When you write about science articles, there are bound to be some things that people just don’t get. The thing is, it’s hugely important that we do understand what science is saying if we’re going to use it to help people understand the potential outcomes of their parenting choices.
One of the things you hear regularly when women talk of the difficulties of breastfeeding is that it’s “not instinctual”, that we aren’t born knowing how to breastfeed a baby and it doesn’t come naturally with birth. The problem with this argument is that if breastfeeding were not instinctual at all, none of us would be here.
It's horribly important to talk to your kids in an age appropriate manner, about bad touches and bad secrets, but that's not enough. My parents did that, and did it very well... Most victims don't tell because they are afraid, afraid of the consequences of telling.
Most of the time the books I review are fun reads. Not with this one. If I had my way, this book would be a mandatory read in all high schools and for all new parents.
