From the summer 2011 newsletter-a collaborative editorial by Chinanit, Elizabeth, Gail and Jennifer
From the first moment you discover you are pregnant, and perhaps even before, parents are faced with a plethora of decisions centered on the well-being of your child. Parenting is a series of making decisions, some of which there are no perfect answers and this can feel overwhelming to any parent, especially a new one. In that spirit, at Parents' Place we encourage parents to gather information about childrearing in order to make decisions that are best for their child/family/selves based on their own values and options available to them.
Some of the choices that parents face are: where and how to give birth, where your child sleeps and when to make changes in this, how you approach discipline and limit setting. It may be challenging at times for a parent who is passionate about their parenting choices to witness another parent in action whose choices are vastly different from their own. At Parents' Place we strive to create an environment that respects and honors many different parenting styles.
One of the first of many choices a family is faced with is how to feed their baby: to breastfeed or to bottle feed. Lately we have noticed a cultural backlash for mothers who are not breastfeeding whether by choice or by circumstance. It makes us sad to hear that a mother, who may be experiencing grief for the loss of a choice she may have dearly wanted, is now hurt further by judgements from others. Have we forgotten that you don't know what anybody is going through until you have walked a mile in their shoes?
We want to acknowledge that it can be disappointing and overwhelming for a parent when they have their heart set on parenting a certain way and it does not work out as they intended. It is common and appropriate to experience grief, sadness, and bewilderment as one charts this new path.
Possibly because breastfeeding is prevalent at Parents' Place, some mothers may be uncomfortable or hesitant to share their journey of how and what their baby is fed. This is not how we envision our community to be. We want Parents' Place to be a safe place for all parents to discuss their challenges and success no matter what their choices or circumstances. Words of support and encouragement build family confidence and a sense of community.
You have heard us say many times, "We feed our babies love." The reason we do this is to remind everyone that the main ingredient in parenting is love, and that we believe that all parents are dedicated to making the best choices for their children in any given situation. When we respect different styles and choices within our parenting community it enriches us and benefits everyone.
