Attachment Parenting: Instinctive Care for Your Baby and Young Child

by Betsy B. Kennedy, William Sears, Katie Allison Granju, et al.

Book Overview

Grow a secure attachment with your children by listening to your heart Popularized by bestselling pediatrician Dr. William Sears, "attachment parenting" encourages mothers and fathers to fully accept... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 067102762X
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: Atria Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 1.0" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

A superb book - brilliantly written!

I honestly believe that this is one of the best parenting books in existence. It gives more information than anyone can absorb in a single reading, and all of it is important. There isn't anything about this book that I dislike. I had the extreme pleasure of meeting Ms. Granju at a conference, and she was just as wonderful as her book.The book starts out with a chapter explaining what attachment parenting is: Bonding with your baby, breastfeeding, responding to your baby's cues, sleeping with and carrying your baby, and respecting your baby as an individual. There is a chapter on preparing for your baby's arrival - what items you will really need, which ones you can probably live without, and planning to breastfeed. There are also chapters on why you should choose breastfeeding over bottle-feeding, all of the reasons why breastfeeding is so important, how and why you should consider sleeping with your baby, "The Working Parent's Guide to Attachment Parenting", why you should carry your baby, and much much more. Each chapter of this book includes a section with resources - other books you can read, organizations you can contact, and websites and mailing lists you can join. I found these resources very helpful and wish all books were so complete. Granju includes quotes from real families who AP, comparisons of parenting styles in different cultures, and lots of supporting medical references. This book is worth every penny and makes a great gift for new or expecting parents.

Attachment Parenting is a wonderful way of life

I wish every expectant parent would read Katie's book. I can't remember how old our son was when we discovered that there was a name for the method of parenting that my husband and I had adopted. We just "knew" not to let him cry himself to sleep, to share sleep with him, to let him breastfeed as he needed to, to hold him and wear him and love him 24 hours a day. And then I discovered Katie's book and she reinforced all of our instincts! Whenever I have doubts (sometimes put upon me by society), all I have to do is re-read certain chapters or pages and it all comes clear to me again: my husband and I are the experts when it comes to our son. We should and will follow our instincts.Yes, before reading this book, we had all the mainstream purchases: crib, swing, baby bucket, baby bouncer seat, stroller. And we did use those items a few times, but not to the extreme that we've seen other parents, leaving baby alone for long periods of time. Our son has grown into a happy and healthy toddler and we owe a lot of it to being so Attached!

Terrific book

To the previous poster: I am so sorry for your loss, but to imply that bed-sharing, as advocated in this book, CAUSES SIDS is irresponsible. This book includes a list of important safety considerations in creating a sleep space for your baby. The study the previous poster cited by the CPSC has been soundly debunked by major scientists and news organizations. It was bad science, period. There is ample evidence to suggest that family sleep sharing is the safest place for a human infant to sleep. The U.S. has the lowest rates of family sleep sharing and the highest rates of SIDS in the world. Breastfeeding on cue lowers the risk of SIDS and attachment parenting promotes breastfeeding on cue. I am a father of two who has been profoundly influenced by this amazing book. Read it yourself and then decide.Mark Bailey

Excellent book

Not sure where the previous reviewer is coming from. I've read all the Sears books AND the Meredith Small book (all excellent , no doubt about that) and this new book is an important addition to the attachment parenting literature. It is chock full of information that I've never sen or read ANYWHERE else. I am an experienced parent of two and I found myself taking notes and highlighting sections of this book to show other parents. A few examples are the scientific info on natural ages of weaning from anthrpologist Dettwyler, the strong info on the risks of uneccesary bottle-feeding, the unequivocal condemnation of cry-it-out sleep training, the incredible resource lists, the side-by-side comparison of slings, backpacks and snugli/frontpack-style carriers, the info on breastfeeding and working outside the home... I could go on and on.This is a GREAT book. Read all the reviews :-) And you won't be sorry if you buy a copy for yourself or a friend.

So well done and so much information!

This excellent book fills a gap in parenting literature, by providing a comprehensive yet easy-to-read introduction to attachment parenting philosophy and practice. Written in a breezy, conversational style, Katie Granju's book feels like advice from a friend: an amazingly knowledgable friend who draws on a wealth of professional research as well as her own experience as a mother of three. Granju's guide directs the reader to the best resources, techniques and even products available to parents wishing to raise their children secure in parental love and attachment. She distinguishes herself from other authors in the field of attachment parenting and breastfeeding by providing practical help for a great variety of situations, including that of the full time working breastfeeding mother. The only thing I felt was missing in this enormously helpful book was an index. There's so much information here and it is a book readers will return to again and again, so it would have been nice to make it easier to find specific topics. That said, the detailed table of contents was very helpful.