Helping
a child to fall asleep, and to go back to sleep
after night waking is natural, and
desirable. To meet nighttime needs as well as daytime needs is critical
. A baby-led schedule is an important aspect of both the days and
nights. Sharing sleep with babies, for naps or at nighttime, can
involve some or all members of the family. Often people have some sort
of "family bed" and in some instances a side-car crib is used (this is
where a crib is butted up to one side of the bed with one side removed
to expand sleeping space). Co-sleeping, or the family bed, will change
and evolve over time, and eventually culminates in the child sleeping
on their own. Many families with an AP philosophy have their
child in
a separate room, but attend to the child's night time needs in the way
they would if it were day time.
Anthropologist Kathy
Dettwyler,PhD has some very thought
provoking writings on the importance of night time parenting.
"Nighttime Parenting" by Dr.William Sears
is an invaluable resource.
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Nursing
on demand and
exclusive breast feeding -- which may include a delayed introduction of
solids till after 6 months -- is frequently practiced. Extended
breast feeding, defined as lasting a minimum of 1 year, and sometimes
lasting for as long as 3-4 years is common. Child-led weaning, or
gentle weaning if parent-led, is respectful of the child's needs and
temperament. To learn about 101 reasons to
breastfeed click here .
Dr. Jack Newman , respected
and
renowned worldwide as a breast feeding expert and advocate, has some
fantastic articles on a huge variety of breast feeding issues at the Bright
Futures Lactation Resource Center. One particularly relevant to
extended breast feeding is entitled "Breastfeed
a Toddler: Why on
Earth?". The entire site has good, easily accessible
information, so
have a look around while you're there.
Dr. Dettwyler has extensive breast feeding information on her site
as well.
Occasionally the attempt to
breastfeed is not successful for varying reasons; for an inspiring
article on bottle-feeding and attachment parenting click here.
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Reading
their babies cues,
and responding intuitively is much easier for
parents in an environment
where babies are worn in baby
carriers, or carried in arms frequently.
Spending as much time as possible with their children is seen by AP
parents as an important way to achieve attached relationships.
Maximizing the parents' time available to the child, whether through
being a stay-at-home, or work-at-home parent, or through pursuing
arrangements that minimize alternative care enables quality attention. Single
parents, or families in which both parents work can and do
practice AP. It may in fact be even more important for these
families
to do so in order to make up for time spent apart. Taking children
anywhere and everywhere with you, and avoiding any lengthy separations
is also helpful.
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