Humf! My dh didn't even admit he AP's to his co-workers....

[Kindermama]

I'm so disappointed in my DH...his two co-workers were mocking people who attachment parent....conversation started like this..."my wife & I need a crib"...then....the guy made a comment about the crazy people out there...and said "have you guys heard of this thing called (insert finger quote movement with sarcasm) attachment parenting?..those people are nuts..my friend got divorced because his wife insisted the baby sleep with them...no wonder huh....blah blah blah etc etc".....

DH never once admitted that he was one of those crazy people!
I wish he had spoke up and told them how it works for our family. Pooey on him...okay carry on now! :

[TiredX2]

That's too bad. DP's coworkers all think he is a hippy, but I think he has really opened them up to info they wouldn't have known before. He has convinced two of them to be there for the birth of their child (they were just going to wait outside) and a variety of other issues.

[Kindermama]

Originally Posted by TiredX2

That's too bad. DP's coworkers all think he is a hippy, but I think he has really opened them up to info they wouldn't have known before. He has convinced two of them to be there for the birth of their child (they were just going to wait outside) and a variety of other issues.

yeah that rocks....that's what I told him...he could have changed their minds or at least "opened" them but nooooo!

[Starr]

I would reassure him that there is nothing wrong with AP. Its isn't a "bad" thing that should be looked down upon. Maybe guys have a harder going against mainstream beleifs and standing up for something....On second thought make him hang out here at MDC for 30 min a day for his punishment so he knows how to be more assertive. :LOL

[GranoLLLy-girl]

My dh treads lightly at work. Most of his colleagues are women. He has found one other colleague whose wife homeschools their five kids and is having another one at home soon.
We have befriended these folks and hang out with them when time allows.
I would be wary of talking about parenting styles at work--I would think that it could fall into line with those other things you don't discuss in the work place: religion, sex and politics.
After all, work is work. And you never know who you are going to upset and how it will affect your working relationship with your peers and bosses.

[aran]

Originally Posted by GranoLLLy-girl

My dh treads lightly at work. ... I would be wary of talking about parenting styles at work--I would think that it could fall into line with those other things you don't discuss in the work place: religion, sex and politics.
After all, work is work. And you never know who you are going to upset and how it will affect your working relationship with your peers and bosses.

Unfortunately, I agree that this is the situation at work for me and my DH too. I think it would be nice to "spread the word," but in some instances it's just too controversial and could threaten important work relationships.

For instance, DH's manager has a DD 6 months older than our DS, so he is always giving DH "sage advice." Before DS was born, he told DH that "The Baby Book" should be subtitled, "How to be Your Baby's B*tch." I thought, "Gee, that doesn't sound good, I better not get that book," and I didn't. The only reason I started APing is because DS wouldn't have it any other way! Now that we know what's up, DH just listens to his managers' (and others' ) discussions of CIO ("because you have to teach the baby to be independent..." ) while quietly gritting his teeth.

My manager BFed exclusively even though it wasn't common at that time and then thought both her DCs weaned overnight at 9 months (can you say nursing strike?). She was very supportive of me working home and BFing until... guess when? DS was nine months old! She also rants about the militant LLL and mamas "forcing" their DCs to BF too long. I guess she must think I am in that camp now. Luckily she's tolerating my continued work-at-home schedule to facilitate BF-ing, but I DO NOT talk about my choices with her.

My co-workers DO all know that DS sleeps ON MY LAP! every night. They think I am crazy for that. But I definitely DO NOT advocate my way to new-parent co-workers unless they are below me in the pecking order : I'm terrible.

[soccerchic21]

It took my DH a little while to come "out" about being AP :LOL

But now he is a totally cute AP advocate. I think one thing that helps AP as far as mainstream viewers go in our case is that on the outside we don't "look" hippie like they expect. So when they hear that we do all of these AP things (co-sleep, extended breastfeeding, slinging, CD) it opens thier mind to the type of people that AP are.

[Heavenly]

I'm lucky in that my husband is a very vocal advocate. He has to be, married to me, or he'd never survive! :LOL He keeps the non-vaxxing thing quiet in regards to our children but he will drop subtle hints about the dangers of vaxxes. He actually took cloth diapers to work to show some of his customers! And he always tells everyone how proud he is that we practice extended nursing and that we're homeschooling. I love my man!

[Anglyn]

I struggle with this issue A LOT 0ecause of what I DO for a living. I work with families whose children have developmental delays or disabilities, ages birth to three. So, on one hand I have clients and the other coworkers, the professionals that go into homes and give advice and yes, Ive sat at a home visit and listened to a coworker advocate CIO and how you have to be the one "in charge". And Ive sat at a staff meeting and listen to a coworker complain about how her "hippy" brother suggested they hold and/or sling thier baby all day. Sigh. Now, on the client side, I feel like I have to give honest advice and I do, but I always tread lightly (dont want to get our agency kicked out of the home for my viewpoints, ya know?). I had one mom tell me she knew she SHOULD get dd out of thier bed, but how? So I very carefully asked if she had any problemswith DD in her bed, she said no, she preferred it. I asked if her dh had issues with it, again no. And dd only slept through the night in thier bed so I said sounds like you dont have a problem to me and yes it'll be hard to get her out of your bed at age four, but any harder than now? I doubt it. So I told her to listen to her own instincts and not other people and I gave her cosleeping facts and research to back it up. And I always tell my clients not to CIO and I have been pretty open that I am tandem nursing my two. I finally decided that A) Im in the field Im in to help children and Im not doing that if I let mainstream philosiphys by me unchecked and B) If Im open, I may be an inspiration to others. I only say this because I had a coworker pull me aside and whisper to me about her son cosleeping, she felt she could talk to me, because she knew I did it, but didnt want others to know because of how outspoken they are against it. I was able to direct her to websites with good cosleeping and AP info that she wouldnt have had otherwise. And she only knew I did it, because I tell everyone and let them roll their eyes.

Its a bit harder with my mainstream coworkers. I feel like Im doing a disservice to the families THEY serve by not educating them, but see if one can dismiss her own brother as a crazy hippie, then will she listen to me? My one spot of hope is Infant Mental Health, its the big up and coming thing in child development now and every bit of it screams AP to me. So Im attending trainings and then coming back to the office and teaching others and crossing my fingers.

Im finding that its easier than I though, no one comes right out and tells me Im full of it or anything, they may look at me weird or make jokes about me being crazy (like for my natural birth that the whole office knew about) but at least they are listening.