When I was in my twenties, I spent several years traveling in Latin America. Much of my time was spent living in indigenous villages in Mexico and Guatemala. While there, I was always impressed by the parenting practices I saw and how different they seemed to be from what I was used to seeing in the United States. Although most families were incredibly poor, children seemed to be happy, loved, and particularly well-adjusted. Some of the practices that I observed during my years of travel that left the greatest impact on me was the constant carrying of babies in slings, breastfeeding infants on demand (and often until children were two or three years of age), and co-sleeping with children.

When I returned to the United States and decided to get pregnant (in my late-thirties), I was determined to follow the examples of the parents I observed in Latin America. While doing some research on parenting, I learned that this style of parenting is actually starting to become more popular in the United States, and is known here as "Attachment Parenting." Probably the most well-known advocate of attachment parenting in the United States is Dr. Sears, who has written numerous books on the topic. Dr. Sears advocates what he calls the "Seven B's" of attachment parenting. In short, these practices involve many of the same practices I observed in my travels: wearing babies in slings, co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding, and responding promptly to babies cries (instead of letting them "cry it out").

There have been numerous scientific studies now of attachment parenting styles and these studies suggest that this parenting philosophy helps develop more empathetic and secure children (see the wikipedia article on attachment parenting for further discussion of some of these studies). You can also read the hubpage "Attachment Parenting 101" by Lela Davidson for yet another perspective on this parenting style.

My experiences with "attachment parenting" for my son, now almost two years old, has been phenomenal and I do not regret for a second any of the decisions I have made. It is, however, a quite demanding style of parenting. I have been fortunate enough to stay at home with my son during this period, and I think it would be quite challenging to work full time and practice attachment parenting, particularly for mothers (you would certainly not be able to do things like breastfeeding on demand, for example). I also think having a supportive partner is also key for attachment parenting to work successfully (my husband is as enthusiastic about the practices as I am).

Although attachment parenting is often seen as a "new parenting philosophy" here in the United States, it is actually a style of parenting whose elements have been practiced in many parts of world for a long, long time. If you are interested in learning more about attachment parenting, you may want to check out "The Baby Book" by Dr. Sears (or any of his other many books on the topic).