Time Magazine Article on Attachment Parenting

[MrsK]

Also the caption "Are you mom enough?" Is that intended to mean that moms who don't breastfeed or stop before their kids are toddlers are not mothering enough? I just don't like making breastfeeding provocative. Parenting is hard enough.

BTW, as K2 approaches his 1st birthday, I'm getting a lot of pressure to wean. And he has not indicated that he is remotely interested in giving it up.

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I just feel like they choose an obviously controversial image when they could have chosen someone baby wearing or even breast feeding an infant and been way less controversial.

I hate how it's so polarized. Ap appears to equal mommy martyr in the popular press while parents who don't/can't breast feed are demonized. It's like you can't win.

And I don't like how it's all about the mom as if AP is something that is all about the mom instead of a general approach to child rearing.

[Pollyanna]

Also the caption "Are you mom enough?" Is that intended to mean that moms who don't breastfeed or stop before their kids are toddlers are not mothering enough? I just don't like making breastfeeding provocative. Parenting is hard enough.

EXACTLY!!! It's another way to pit mothers against each other. Completely unnecessary.

[Laker]

As a male, I think it would disturb me if I had memories of this from when I was a toddler. Thankfully my mom only breastfed me for 6 months and I don't remember a thing. Unfortunately for this kid, his mom decided to include him on the cover of Time magazine and he isn't in a position himself to knowingly consent to such a photo. Hopefully he doesn't suffer down the road from his parent's decision.

[spotty_dog]

Wow, the tone of that article rubs me the wrong way and the sexual focus is downright creepy. I would hardly consider a photo of breastfeeding (yes, even this one) to be “get[ting] naked in front of other people.”

Exactly. The man chose the phrase "suck his mother's nipple" to be as lewd as humanly possible. It sheds FAR more light on his mindset (and mental health issues) than that of the mother in the photo.

[Ladybug]

People exaggerate and sensationalize for media. The photo is exaggerated, and his word choice is exaggerated. No different. The emotional reaction of the audience is reflective.

[SoonerTexan]

Thirteen and I discussed this today. The photo pisses me off.

And what Cassy said about attachment parenting exactly. It's so misunderstood already (and some people do take it to the extreme) and I doubt this will help

[ladymoreta]

I do worry about teasing/bullying later in the little boy's life. I have no objection to extended nursing, but kids are cruel, and this picture seems to be setting him up for later harassment from classmates.

[niener]

As a male, I think it would disturb me if I had memories of this from when I was a toddler. Thankfully my mom only breastfed me for 6 months and I don't remember a thing. Unfortunately for this kid, his mom decided to include him on the cover of Time magazine and he isn't in a position himself to knowingly consent to such a photo. Hopefully he doesn't suffer down the road from his parent's decision.

My office mate (a female pediatrician) and I were talking about this cover today and came to this same conclusion. We were both very weirded out by the thought of actually remembering being breastfed. But personal choices aside, this boy will always be known as the boy suckling on the cover of Time magazine. They could have at least had him looking away from the camera. I haven't read the accompanying article, but the photo was done in poor taste IMO.

I don't think this would be quite as huge of a sensation if it were a young girl rather than a young boy. Yes I know breastfeeding is not sexual but seeing a male child at the breast that's older than I'm used to seeing... well I get a bit of an Oedipus feeling that probably wouldn't be there if it were a female child.

[Thirteen]

EXACTLY!!! It's another way to pit mothers against each other. Completely unnecessary.

It shouldn't be like this. I totally agree!

The act of feeding your child is a personal thing: with breastfeeding, a physical manifestation of your relationship.
I don't need someone posing, hoping to incite controversy, on the cover of a magazine. It's not about what society thinks, because it's between me and my child.

It would be just as unnecessary to have a mother, bottle feeding a 3-4 year old, on the cover of a magazine. That's none of my business how/what she feeds her child.


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[GrayMatterWife]

It appears that I am just not smart enough to be an attachment parent...

http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05...ent-parenting/

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Breastfeeding isn't even an AP tenet. It's recommended but the AP part is HOW you feed your child. Eye contact, with love, etc. So the photo contradicts AP. Way to get pwned by a non-parent, Time. Derp.


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But I feel like all parents feed their children with love. AP is a set of common attitudes and beliefs some of which include unmedicated birth, baby wearing, breast feeding on demand, cosleeping, etc. People mix and match those things to find what works for them. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone 100% AP or 100% not AP.

[niener]

It appears that I am just not smart enough to be an attachment parent...

http://geekout.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05...ent-parenting/

This article pisses me off probably more than the first one. So now not only are we not mother enough, we're not smart enough either? At least I have the sense to prevent my child from dying of polio, Blalik. Damn.

[Cinderella]

This is the top story today.

For me learning about breast feeding has been a process. I didn't really think about it until all my friends around my age started having kids. When they told me it was recommended to breast feed until the age of 2 I was shocked. Then I read some of the baby books that were recommended or requested by them as baby shower gifts and found that seemed to be the standard. So I adjusted to the idea. Then I started becoming aware of mother's breast feeding in public. Before that I'm sure they were there I just didn't pay much attention until it seemed to become a controversy here and there. I guess I always assumed it was a natural normal thing. Since living in Oregon I see bare breasted women breast feeding babies or toddlers in the park or at the farmer's market every week. I think this way of parenting is very popular here. Even in our local news package on the topic today it's difficult to find anyone to give us a dissenting opinion on what this Mom on the cover is doing. They all are either doing it or agree with it. So when this image was presented to me yesterday I didn't really have a reaction one way or the other because I'm kind of use to it.

From a technical point of view I can say that looking into a camera is considered confrontational to the viewer. People tend to look away from it so if you're ever interviewed you'll be asked not to look into the camera and to look to the side of it or at the reporter. This appears as if they're talking to someone and not to the viewer. This picture is clearly confrontational and provoking an intended reaction. From the Mom's interview on the Today show it seems she wanted this image to start a dialog so she has achieved her goal. Though it may not be the reaction or influence that she was intending to have to educate the public on the subject. Perhaps if the Mother and child were looking at each other while breast feeding the image would have conveyed the intended message much more appropriately?

edited to add: Yes this is a Sweeps month and it is all about ratings.

[SoonerTexan]

Interesting angle Cinderella!