Many Australians woke this morning to scare mongering about bedsharing thanks to articles in their papers. Notably, claims that 25 babies died in the parent bed last year are leading to people declaring bedsharing should be illegal and even some people are being investigated for it (I kid you not).
Review of the book 'Sage Parenting' by Rachel Rainbolt.
Research is always held up to scrutiny, as it should be, but it seems these days that any research finding that shows an "advantage" to breastfed babies faces criticism large and loud, sometimes legitimate, but sometimes making one wonder what the agenda really is. If we look at the breastfeeding research, can we really say there's mass ineptness? Or is there something to it?
Many of you know the very viral piece "Why African Babies Don't Cry: An African Perspective". Well, here I present a guest article by the same author, the very talented JC Niala, on sleeping from her very unique, personal history as an African-British woman. I am so thrilled she has decided to share this with us and hope you enjoy it!
On July 10th (my time), I was lucky to be interviewed by Pinky McKay. Here is that interview!
Babies learn. They may not learn like certain "experts" claim, but learn they do. This guest post from Dr. Patricia Brosseau-Liard covers the research to date on what we know of how infants and young children learn. Practical implications? That's up to you!
Is parenting instinctive? Though I argue elements are (and we fight to ignore them), here is another beautiful take on how not instinctive parenting can be.
Recently an article came out in the Daily Mail in the UK with the headline “Sleepless nights caused by crying babies ends one in three marriages, research claims”. Okay, first, it’s the Daily Mail so no one should take too much stock, but the fact remains people will.
Our society has changed and we are now expected to parent alone. And yet that is not how we evolved to parent and the lack of support that families, and in particular, moms have is hurting everyone. It's not just financial, but practically and emotionally as well.
Helping an infant return to sleep easily, then, is an essential gift to give our infants—as well as an important goal for parents who need to rest. The science of nighttime care provides a good foundation for parents trying to calm their babies. It clarifies what is important to know about calming babies and why certain types of calming are most likely to be helpful.
