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| borrowed from naturalparentsnetwork.com |
For the longest time I’ve
been grappling with what kind of parenting philosophy to guide us in raising
our family. I’ve seen a few
articles that seem to verbalize what kind of parent I
would like to be. But it somehow
did not satisfy me just yet. Was I
looking for a label? Maybe. So as I was researching about
breastfeeding I
chanced upon Natural Parenting and
somehow what it stood for fit our ideals – both hubby and I. Researching on this was what took over
me this weekend (talk about obsessed!).
So what exactly is
Natural Parenting (or NP for short)?
According to the Natural
Parents Network, “’Natural parenting’ is based on a desire to live and parent
responsively and consciously. While no two families who practice natural
parenting may define it the same way, there are several principles that are
widely agreed to be part of this lifestyle. These are ideals that natural
parents tend to hold — even if we don’t always live up to all of them, we keep
them in mind as goals.”
I like that in as much as
it is a philosophy, it is still very flexible. It doesn’t force parents into a box. Rather it provides a collection of
principles for which parents uphold as ideals. I also appreciate that the group recognizes that parenting
is a process and that you can call yourself a natural parent even if you don’t
“perfectly” practice all.
What then are the
principles of Natural Parenting? The Natural Parenting Network presents
the following:
- Attachment/Responsive Parenting which includes preparing for pregnancy,
birth and parenting; feeding with love and respect; responding with
sensitivity; using nurturing touch; ensuring safe sleep; providing
consistent and loving care; practice gentle/positive discipline; striving
for balance in personal and family life.
- Ecological Responsibility and Love of Nature: Families strive to reduce their ecological
footprint by living consciously and making Earth-friendly choices, such as
by choosing organic when possible, using cloth diapers etc.
- Holistic Health Practices: Parents research medical choices and make
educated decisions regarding all health care. Many families choose to use
alternative or natural healthcare such as herbal remedies, chiropractic
care, natural childbirth, and so on.
- Natural Learning: Families spend time together, and children
learn through everyday activities. Parents try to facilitate learning
without “teaching,” to help children ask questions that develop thinking,
to develop consideration for others without shaming or training, to give
choices while guiding the children, to listen to instinctual cues, to
honor emotions and desires, to allow development to take place in its own
time, and to engender cooperation and harmony without manipulation.
The Natural Parenting
Network also provides additional principles:
- Healthy Eating and Living: Eating healthy foods, making regular time for physical movement and having a healthy body image.
- Parenting Philosophies: Parents and parents-to-be research different parenting philosophies.
- Political and Social Activism: Families who parent against the grain often see issues in society they want to change and they work to make that happen.
- Family Safety and Health
At the end of the day,
they say “Natural Parenting is making the choice to develop a deep bond with
your children and family based on mutual respect. An attached child grows into
a mature and interdependent individual who understands how to develop healthy,
secure relationships with others.”
Now isn’t that
wonderful? At the end of the day I
realized that in as much as I like putting concepts in “nice, little boxes”
(cognitively economical that way!) it wasn’t the mere boxing in a particular
parenting label that mattered.
What I was really looking for was a framework to move along in this new
space called Parenting.
Check out the second part
of this series for why Natural Parenting resonated with me (and hubby!).
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