Quote:
Originally Posted by pepper24
A good buddy of mine is a Pediatrician and convinced that the spike in autism is due to a new parenting trend called Attached Parenting. It's a controversial method that includes having your kids sleep in your bed well into their infant stage and basically holding them all day. Any sign of crying you hold and comfort the kid. It's a stem off of the helicopter mom, breastfeeding your preschool kid parenting technique.
His thought is that by being held all the time starring at clothing and skin the baby isn't overly stimulated mentally along with the child lacking the independence of exploring on their own which hurts development of the brain during crucial years.
It's an interesting thesis especially as the large spike in autism correlates to when Attached Parenting was introduced in the late 1980's. I'll have to ask him about the male age study next round of beers.
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Well...... i would be willing to bet money he is wrong.
To preface i do not practice attachment parenting and think cosleeping is stupid and breastfeeding 5 year olds disgusting but to blame attachment parenting on autism seems foolish.
Looking at non industrial cultures kids being carried constantly was a way of life. Look rural asia and africa. Baby wearing in general is a throw back practice not a modern one. Attachment parenting is also a significant minority and not a mainstream practice. If anything the increase in dual income families has led to more kids a daycare and therefore less kids getting held.
Its really just baseless speculation from someone in a position who should know better than to speculate given the damage jenny macarthy has caused