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The Attachment Parenting Book

A Commonsense Guide to Understanding and Nurturing Your Child

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The Attachment Parenting Book

By: William Sears MD, Martha Sears RN
Narrated by: Jim Denison
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About this listen

America's foremost baby and childcare experts, William Sears, MD, and Martha Sears, RN, explain the benefits - to both you and your child - of connecting with your baby early.

Might you and your baby both sleep better if you shared a bed? How old is too old for breastfeeding? What is a father's role in nurturing a newborn? How does early attachment foster a child's eventual independence? Dr. Bill and Martha Sears - the doctor-and-nurse, husband-and-wife team who coined the term "attachment parenting" - answer these and many more questions in this practical, inspiring guide. Attachment parenting is a style of parenting that encourages a strong early attachment and advocates parental responsiveness to babies' dependency needs.

The Attachment Parenting Book clearly explains the seven "Baby Bs" that form the basis of this popular parenting style:

  • Bonding
  • Breastfeeding
  • Babywearing
  • Belief in the language value of baby's cry
  • Bedding close to baby
  • Balance
  • Beware of baby trainers

Here's all the information you need to achieve your most important goals as a new parent: to know your child, to help your child feel right, and to enjoy parenting.

©2001 William Sears and Martha Sears (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Children's Health Fatherhood Infants & Toddlers Motherhood Parenting & Families Relationships Child Development Parenting Baby
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I was recommended William and Martha Sears' books by my sister when I was pregnant with my first baby, and this is the one I bought first. It was fantastic and extremely helpful for when my baby was born. I'm totally sold on attachment parenting because my baby is calm, healthy and happy with it. I have since bought many more of Sears' books, on breastfeeding, discipline etc and they're all really good!

A wonderful book

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This book has some good principles on attachment. However it feels exceptionally outdated in terms of its gender roles. Firstly, I felt uncomfortable having a male author and reader telling me what I should do when it comes to breastfeeding etc. Secondly, it puts all of the onus on the mother, including the responsibility to keep her husband happy. It does encourage fathers to be more involved, but says that it is the mother’s responsibility to directly ask them, and that father’s should ask a mother what needs doing. I think as a society we are aware that both parents need to take responsibility and initiative now, and this full mental load doesn’t need to fall on a mother!
It also feels a little bit repetitive.

Outdated parental expectations

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I enjoyed the balance of an evidence based and personal approach to caring for babies using the principles of attachment theory.
it helped me feel more confident that the approach I wanted to take is the right one, being a first time single mum from a very dysfunctional family, it's critical for me to do things differently to raise my baby.
Only downside was the audio, the presenter has a very mechanical sounding voice which I didn't like.

Explains scientific and sensitive approach

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