Why do you consider yourself a natural parent?

[lepaskilf]

I use cloth nappies, used to carry Tom when he was little and still use my ergo every now and again now, we co-sleep and all of his food is home cooked by me and oh.

We are also considering home schooling but I don't class myself as a natural parent as I don't feel like that, or any of the other things I do are necessarily more natural than say pushing a pram or LO sleeping in their own bed!

Why do you class yourself as a natural parent?

 

[Arcanegirl]

We just seem out of the ordinary to whats common around here

 

[lepaskilf]

I suppose the norm near me is to wear baby, and feed organic foods and use cloth nappies so it just seems normal to me. Definately not classed in the natural category.

For me that would be all food is self sustained - veggie patches, pigs chickens etc... all clothes and cleasning products are organically and locally sourced for both parents and children, and most of your time is spent outside in any weather, walking, playing, learning (we do this one!)

 

[discoclare]

i don't think i'm natural, i just hang out here as i use cloth and babywear! i have a lot of similar opinions to the majority in here, but also do oter non-np stuff. this is us:

- cloth nappies
- part-time babywear, use a pram too
- traditional weaning, as i did use a spoon, but she ate"normal foods" the same as our meals, unpureed, from when we started (6 months)
- breastfed to 7 months, then formula
- never co-slept (other than odd diffcult night)
- she has amber teething necklace
- dd is fully vaccinated for uk schedule, though i also plan to do Hep b privately (not in uk schedule)
- she will attend regular state school
- no cio/cc

 

[feeble]

Baby wear full time (still now at 18 months with another inside!)

Natural birth

Breastfeeding for as long as possible

Cloth nappies

Baby led weaning

Baby led routine/none routine

Wooden toys, no plastic

Delayed schooling

Delayed/selective vaccination

Co-slept for the first 14 months

Amber teething necklace

No sweetners, I use sugar capol, full fat drinks etc


Erm... Think that's about it! Lol

 

[kit10grl]

Breastfeeding as long as possible
Babywearing (part-time)
Full time cloth nappy use
BLW
co-sleeping (part-time)
Amber wearing
We dont intend to use smacking as discipline

Not sure where the lines are exaclty between AP and natural parenting, but we seem to have bits of both. Im considered 'natural' by the majority of people i know as they dont follow many of the things we do ie breastfeeding and cloth nappys, so they need a 'term' to describe me as i'm different from their style and if they can give it a term they cant 'get' it

 

[feeble]

See, I actually don't find the discipline side of AP or UP that natural... Not that its not good and great for kiddies etc but if you watch a monkey training their young (or infact any animal in the natural world) they certainly aren't 'gentle' about it lol!

 

[mandarhino]

Hell I only came in here to talk about nappies with other obsessives.

I don't think the 'natural parenting' label gets used much in RL. I've certainly never used it to describe my parenting style. Everyone who posts in here does a bit of this and a bit of that depending on what works for their family so you couldn't really come up with a definitive list of what 'natural parenting' is IMO.

 

[lepaskilf]

Yeah I think I'd put myself in the attachment parenting "box" if anyting!

I guess I live in a great community where breastfeeding is the norm, a lot of people have home grown veg and there are lots of baby wearers (ergos everywhere!!) and there's a cloth nappy warehouse (for the babykind website) just down the road. So as it is the norm I just didn't know what to call myself!

It feels a bit kleeky sometimes round here and people who formula feed or put juice in their lo's cups! can sometimes be looked down upon which is a real shame!

 

[Mum2b_Claire]

I'm not sure what label I'd put on myself really, but I definitely parent very differently to the norm where I live. If I was forced to use a label I'd probably say I was a conscious parent, in that I don't do things just because everyone else does, I really think about things and research them and make sure they are really what I want to be doing.

 

[Tacey]

I find the term natural parenting a bit odd really. Strange things end up in here - like what's natural about rear facing or even cloth nappies? I can't really offer an alternative, and we all know what is meant by it, but I wouldn't class myself as a natural parent.

I don't even consider myself to be AP or UP, although my parenting is strongly influenced by both. I think our parenting and lifestyle choices are quite different from the norm, but I don't think of it as a tick list of 'natural' things to do. They are choices we make because they make sense for our family. Apart from giving us a recognisable way to find information, I think the labels are pretty worthless.

 

[feeble]

Well, cloth nappies arent disposable land-fillers, or full of chemicals so I would say they are pretty natural

True about the rear facing though... I wouldn't really count that as being 'natural' more just sensible lol

I think most things labelled as natural are so, but a few things confuse me too

 

[Tacey]

Well, cloth nappies arent disposable land-fillers, or full of chemicals so I would say they are pretty natural

True about the rear facing though... I wouldn't really count that as being 'natural' more just sensible lol

I think most things labelled as natural are so, but a few things confuse me too

Not as natural as EC

 

[Rachel_C]

I think things like ERF get put in here because this forum tends to be full of people who are used to being a bit different so is generally a more tolerant place. If you even mention ERF in baby club, for example, you're bound to get somebody saying "So you're saying I don't love my child as much as you do? Get off your high horse!", whereas people in here, even if they don't agree with you, are more used to being in a minority so don't get as touchy about things! It's a safe haven in here.

 

[feeble]

I didn't realise it was a competition lol

I think ec is very natural also, but that doesn't make cloth nappies unnatural, you could say BLW isn't natural unless it's food the family have harvested/found themselves, or that eating meat is unnatural... But Blw is quite natural compared to mainstream tw methods so I reckon it passes

I suppose that's the thing, cloth nappies obviously aren't natural to you, gentle discipline is not natural to me (not that I don't practise it, just I don't find it natural) but its whatever you make of it... A none defined set of ideas that depend on the person...

 

[Snuffy]

I don't think of myself as a "natural parent". I've had two sections, the second planned, FF, don't co-sleep and use a pram.

However we do use cloth nappies and I am more interested in slings this time round than the pram obsession that occupied me last time.

I just like it in here because it's less snarky than other parts of the forum

 

[lepaskilf]

I find the term natural parenting a bit odd really. Strange things end up in here - like what's natural about rear facing or even cloth nappies? I can't really offer an alternative, and we all know what is meant by it, but I wouldn't class myself as a natural parent.

I don't even consider myself to be AP or UP, although my parenting is strongly influenced by both. I think our parenting and lifestyle choices are quite different from the norm, but I don't think of it as a tick list of 'natural' things to do. They are choices we make because they make sense for our family. Apart from giving us a recognisable way to find information, I think the labels are pretty worthless.

I understand this completely! Cloth nappying isn't necesseraly natural, it does have more environmental benefits over sposies, but they are still made from plastic and will eventually need to be thrown away!

This forum is a great place to express our alternative methods of parenting without judgement x

 

[TwoMummies]

I don't but this is where I was sent for cloth nappy advice.

Although I am planning to BF as well.

Not co-sleeping but only because OH is a smoker and am too much of a pram addict to babywear full time but I will use a carrier for walking the dog as there is no way i'm pushing a pram over the fields.

 

[littlestar85]

I'm not sure what label I'd put on myself really, but I definitely parent very differently to the norm where I live. If I was forced to use a label I'd probably say I was a conscious parent, in that I don't do things just because everyone else does, I really think about things and research them and make sure they are really what I want to be doing.

I like this - "a conscious parent" - I'm also not quite sure how I'd label myself but I feel I fit in most with the 'natural parent' label. I believe in the Attachment Parenting theory and love The Continuum Concept although we haven't incorporated all aspects of either.

I breastfeed on demand and will until LO self weans, we did BLW, I prefer to only feed LO organic food, I'm very much against 'discipline' in the telling off sense (and definitely anti-smacking), we co-sleep, I babywear, I hate the idea of sleep training, behavioural training etc.

I've tried very hard to research child psychology, human/maternal/survival instinct etc. (which is why I like the "conscious parent" label) and I just believe that children need, deserve and have the right to unconditional love and affection, breastmilk on demand until self-weaning, natural eating habits and healthy food, free thinking and free play, physical exercise and fun, to feel safe and protected, to go to sleep calmly in whichever way makes them happy - be that on the breast, being cuddled, sung to etc. to receive a stimulating and enriching education and to have the unconditional love and support of their parents as they turn into whoever it is they will grow up to be.

 

[Tacey]

I didn't realise it was a competition lol

I think ec is very natural also, but that doesn't make cloth nappies unnatural, you could say BLW isn't natural unless it's food the family have harvested/found themselves, or that eating meat is unnatural... But Blw is quite natural compared to mainstream tw methods so I reckon it passes

I suppose that's the thing, cloth nappies obviously aren't natural to you, gentle discipline is not natural to me (not that I don't practise it, just I don't find it natural) but its whatever you make of it... A none defined set of ideas that depend on the person...

It's not a competition of course, but that's my issue with it. When you start having a list of criteria that are considered for some arbitrary reason 'natural' I feel like it becomes constrictive. I used cloth with Alice, and will next time. I don't feel that it's a particularly natural thing to do, but then neither is living in a house with a flushing loo or buying food from the supermarket. My post was a bit flippant really. I don't mind the 'natural' label, I do most of the things that fit into this section, but I don't consider myself a natural parent. It just seems vague to me and potentially alienating.