Dr Phil: Benefits Of Attachment Parenting & Breastfeeding 4-year-olds

Dr Phil: Controversial Parenting

Kathy is an attachment parent. She has her kids with her 24/7 and thinks that is the way it should be. Her four-year-old son is still breastfeeding and very attached to her. She wears her four-month-old in a sling everywhere she goes. Kathy thinks that saying no to kids is damaging and attachment parenting is a good way to stay plugged into your kids.

Kathy doesn’t cover up when she breastfeeds. She said that if someone finds it inappropriate that is their problem. She and her husband jokingly call cribs “cages.” She is working on weening her four-year-old, but she wants him to feel a sense of independence. She believes that he will stop when he is ready.

Dr Phil: Attachment Parenting Controversial

Dr Phil asked his viewers and audience what they thought about attachment parenting. They thought that the practice is disgusting and the opposite of what parents should do. They thought kids need to hear no and experience rejection or else they turn into needy adults. By having “mommy-daddy time” you encourage kids to create their own boundaries and identities.

One woman had grown up in attachment parenting. She said she was feeling the effects long into her adult years. She never learned how to accept rejection or be alone.

Dr Phil: Dr Jim Sears vs Hara Estroff Marano

The experts were divided on whether this is a good idea. The Doctors’ Dr. Jim Sears thought that co-sleeping with your child was okay as long as it is done safely. He did his best to convince the crowd there are two sides and many ways to parent. He said there is no official time for parents to stop breastfeeding. Breastfeeding helps the immune system and contributes to higher IQ’s.

Hara Estroff Marano, editor at large for Psychology Today, thought that attachment parenting is a horrible idea. She said that kids need to see when mommy goes away she is going to come back. It prevents separation anxiety and allows kids to explore the real world. She believes that kids get better immune systems by playing in the dirt.