Mayim Bialik Touts Attachment Parenting in Her New Memoir

Celebrity baby Scoop gives us a great interview with Mayim Bialik on her new book “Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way.”

“She first stole our hearts as the hat-wearing teen Blossom and the saucy young Bette Midler in Beaches. Now we love Mayim Bialik as the quirky neurobiologist Amy Farrah Fowler on CBS's The Big Bang Theory. Not only does she have an outstanding acting career, she also holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and is one of the most hands-on moms in Hollywood.”

What interests me the most is one of the struggles I find myself facing, which is that I want to raise independent children and not have my kids think that they are going to get everything they want in life, but at the same time, I want to give them everything they need and be there as completely as possible for them.

Bialik speaks about the challenge of how exhausting attachment parenting can be, but how ANY kind of parenting is exhausting, which is true.

"I'm always exhausted, but most parents are! But yes, if you make the decision to have your child breastfeed on demand and you make the decision to be the primary caregiver to your child, if you make the decision not to sleep-train your child because you believe they will be ready to sleep independent when they're ready, yes it's exhausting!

I also see a lot of parents that don't parent the way that we choose to and have a tremendous amount of anxiety, worry, and fighting with their children over things that I don't fight with my children about. So I think it's actually a trade-off of where you want to put your energy. It's a lot of work early on with your child for sure. But like I said, for many of us it's worth it."

What resonates the most with me about what she says is her attitude toward other mothers who disagree with her style of parenting. We are all entitled to our own opinions and ways of raising children.The book is part memoir, part explaining what attachment parenting is.

“And also, I talk about this in the book, everyone's allowed their own opinions! Some people want to have a conversation with you, and some people just want to be right. I've really learned which is which, and know when to smile and say, 'Thanks for your opinion. This is what works for us and I'm glad you're doing what works for you.' "

This is the attitude I’m looking to foster through Celebrity Momster:  Let’s celebrate our parenting styles, look with curiosity to other parents and their ways, and see what we can learn from each other.