The Attachment Parenting Book by William Sears M.D. and Martha Sears R. N.

This is a fantastic book. It is so fantastic that I would recommend it to every parent. This book is packed with important and useful information. It is like a breath of fresh air. This book appears short, but I assure you it isn’t. It takes a bit of time to read. There is some repetitious parts in the book, which make for some dry reading, but overall, this book is incredibly informative.

I believe parents who read this book will immediately recognize the concepts outlined in this book as the most natural, instinctual way to parent a child. What I love about this book is that it clearly educates the reader on the needs of a baby, specifically in regards to a baby’s attachment. Many parents may attest that they don’t actually know what their baby needs at times- that they’re at a loss. Attachment parenting is about knowing your baby so well because you work to maintain that connection that you’re rarely at a loss for what baby needs. You’re able to do this because you know your baby. Also explained in this book are baby’s need for attachment. Baby’s most basic need is a secure attachment with caregivers. This is how baby learns to trust.

I personally believe we live in a culture where it is very easy to become detached from our babies. Many mothers must work full time. We are a society where bottle feeding is prevalent. Many babies sleep in a crib alone at night and during the day rock in a swing or some other contraption. I’m not criticizing these behaviors, but they are examples of how it is easily possible to lose connection with a baby. To be attached, time must be spent with one another and baby’s needs must be met. The Attachment Parenting book outlines situations that can happen when baby isn’t attached or baby’s needs are not met. The book also states that if baby is not attached, it is hard to get that attachment back as baby grows older. The authors state you’ll feel as though you’re always playing catch up with your child or may risk never really knowing your child. Attachment difficulties can take years to fix.

Another great aspect of this book is the beware of baby trainer advice. I must admit if one does not know or understand the theory of attachment, there are times when training your baby may seem like a good idea. What parent doesn’t want to have a baby that doesn’t trouble them, sleeps all night, doesn’t need much? It seems great on the surface. The risk though is baby becoming complacent and detached. On the surface, baby seems fine, but really detrimental things may be happening to baby on the inside. Baby training is associated closely with failure to thrive infants.

In this book, you’ll also learn about the other baby B’s of AP: birth bonding, breastfeeding, babywearing, bedding close to baby, belief in baby’s cry, and balance and boundaries.

Attachment parenting is a gentle instinctual way to parent a child. There isn’t a big laundry list of do’s and don’ts. It’s just a natural way of caring for a child. Children who are securely attached turn into bright, caring, sensitive, and secure individuals. They are typically independent and highly functioning. The effort put into this style of parenting is certainly worth it.