[misfit]

So... there has been so much discussion lately about MDC and what it is and what it should be and it got me thinking on this one.<br><br>
Mothering is the magazine for Natural Family Living.<br>
MotheringDotCommune is "THE Natural Family Living Community"<br>
The rules describes this as a forum for "attachment parenting and natural family living"<br><br>
From a lot of posts I've seen I get the idea that to many people this is an "AP" community. Whereas I tend to see it as a NFL community (no I don't mean football).<br><br>
Natural Family Living and Attachment Parenting, although they have some overlap, are in no way the same thing. (There exists, after all, organic cotton crib bedding.)<br><br>
So I was wondering what you all thought on THIS topic:<br><blockquote><p>Is this a community for parents practicing both Natural Family Living AND Attachment Parenting? Or for parents practicing EITHER ONE. And what is the difference -- and where do they overlap? And is one more important than the other?</p></blockquote>
I won't be online for a few days... I thought I'd post this and see whether it turns into 10 pages or sinks to the bottom while I'm gone. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/mischievous.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="mischief">

 

[Aura_Kitten]

i believe people who are either/or (AP or NFL) should be welcome here.<br><br>
i think anybody who wants to post here or just lurk, and learn from the other mamas here, should be welcome here.<br><br>
with that said, i do expect the majority of people here to support and/or advocate BOTH.<br><br>
that's the way i view Mothering -- the magazine -- and that's what i expected from Mothering -- the online community.

 

[Lucky Charm]

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<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">Whereas I tend to see it as a NFL community (no I don't mean football).</td>
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Now, when i first saw this on the other thread, my first thought was "what the helll does football have to do with MDC and ap'g?"<br><br>
See, thats the mainstreamer in me, i'm being honest. and quite the doofus.

 

[yoga]

What klothos said.<br><br>
I have real issues with saying "certain types of ppl belong here and certain types don't" b/c I believe in growth.<br><br>
I expect that if someone came here saying she advocates and practices CIO, she will be questioned and offered an education. Unfortunately, it wouldn't surprise me if she also got flamed. But, the flaming is really what I would have issues with.

 

[Heavenly]

Well I notice a lot of people saying in arguments "well this is Mothering and I am a Mother" or "this is a board about being a Mother." No, it is called Mothering because it is based on Mothering magazine. So IMO the discussions should be based on the types of things Mothering magazine talks about. If Mothering magazine started posting about doing CIO with a 6 week old or formula feeding by choice I wouldn't read it any more. That's just me...

 

[Kelly71]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Heavenly</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Well I notice a lot of people saying in arguments "well this is Mothering and I am a Mother" or "this is a board about being a Mother." No, it is called Mothering because it is based on Mothering magazine. So IMO the discussions should be based on the types of things Mothering magazine talks about. If Mothering magazine started posting about doing CIO with a 6 week old or formula feeding by choice I wouldn't read it any more. That's just me...</div>
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<br><img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/clap.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="clap"> ITA~

 

[Emzachsmama]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>klothos</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">i believe people who are either/or (AP or NFL) should be welcome here.<br><br>
i think anybody who wants to post here or just lurk, and learn from the other mamas here, should be welcome here.<br><br>
with that said, i do expect the majority of people here to support and/or advocate BOTH.<br><br>
that's the way i view Mothering -- the magazine -- and that's what i expected from Mothering -- the online community.</div>
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ITA <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/thumb.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="thumbs up">

 

[oceanbaby]

If this place jives with you, then join. That's how I see it.<br><br>
I'd like to see what thes definition of Natural Family Living is anyway. There have been many discussions about how AP is not a laundry list of rules that must be adhered to, but rather a certain style of parenting.<br><br>
So what is the NFL style? If I eat organic, recycle, walk most places, and volunteer to plant trees in our city, is it okay that I use bleach? Can I still wear makeup? What is the mpg cutoff that my car must achieve before I am allowed to post?<br><br>
I would wager that it is impossible to define NFL, even harder than AP (which seems rather easy to define, IMO). A woman on another thread said that she considers abortions unnatural family living. So in her opinion, only pro-lifers are really living a natural life. I obviously think this is ridiculous, but it just goes to show how different of an attitude people have about this. I use cloth, which is great, but if I spend too much money on cute cloth diapers, then I'm now back in the negative column because I am guilty of excess consumerism.<br><br>
Where does it end?

 

[magnoliablue]

This is a definition of AP as described by Dr Sears in Creative Parenting:<br><br>
" Attachment parenting is making a committment to parenting. Parenting your preborn child,preparing for childbirth,a positive birthing experience, birthbonding,breastfeeding with infantled weaning, responding sensitively to your baby's cries, "wearing" your baby, discipline through loving guidance,giving your child an educational advantage at home, family recreation, involved fathering, continuum parenting"<br><br>
To me , Natural Family Living is along the same lines. If I am going to do the very best as a parent, then I want to do the best in every area...so I use organic foods, try to conserve the earth's resources, do not use pesticides and to live in agreement with nature.<br><br>
I fall short sometimes..we all do. Just like a parent does, but I do my best. I believe Mothering supports both lifestyle choices, just as I believe they are one in the same... do I always agree with every thing I read in Mothering? No..but I do my best to understand why I do not agree with something, and educate myself in the things I do not understand.<br><br>
Everyone is welcome here. I like to remember the words of my first LLL leader. She said," We will share many stories and ideas with you. Some you might agree with, some you might not. Take the wisdom you need and leave what you don't in the planter by the door on your way out."<br><br>
There is something for everyone here..and noone should ever not feel they aren't welcome because they do not meet someone's definition of AP/NFL to the absolute.

 

[Aura_Kitten]

to me, natural family living (or, natural living in general) = trying to tread lightly upon our earth, trying our best to preserve it for future generations. in the spirit of parenting, this also means trying to take care of it so our children have a better future.<br><br>
since it was asked ~ no, i don't think chlorine bleach is ever ok to use. there are alternatives. but am i going to start a flame war here against mamas who choose to still use it? no. up until very recently, i kept a jug of chlorine bleach in our home as well, because i didn't know there were alternatives, and then when i first learned about them, thought they'd be "too much work" or "too expensive" or "ineffective." i've learned differently and changed my lifestyle over the past few years to reflect my philosophy on life...<br><br>
i guess what i'm getting at is that i expect people here to at least be making an effort at living the good life, kwim? treating their kids well, treating their fellow earthlings with respect, and working toward a greener earth. it's not about who's crunchiest, but who's trying. i don't buy all organic everything -- i can't afford it. but i do make an honest effort to buy what i can organic, and buy locally grown and produced whenever it's available.

 

[fourgrtkidos]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>klothos</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">i believe people who are either/or (AP or NFL) should be welcome here.<br><br>
i think anybody who wants to post here or just lurk, and learn from the other mamas here, should be welcome here.<br><br>
with that said, i do expect the majority of people here to support and/or advocate BOTH.<br><br>
that's the way i view Mothering -- the magazine -- and that's what i expected from Mothering -- the online community.</div>
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What you said. You need to be DDDDC'd.

 

[oceanbaby]

My bleach use is a double whammy. I use a spash of it once every few months on my hemp diapers - not only is it the dreaded bleach, but I'm using it on my precious diapers! (For those not familiar with the ins and outs of using hemp for cloth diapering, they can really start to stink badly, like strong eye burning ammonia, after awhile, and the only thing I ever had success with was bleach. So I have one tiny bottle that I splash into the hemp laundry about 4 times a year.)<br><br>
But that's what I'm saying - I think it's pretty hard to define natural family living. One person's version of treading lightly on the earth is different than another's. And we can all justify the non-crunchy things we do. (Well, except for when I buy coca cola. There is just no excuse for that!)

 

[fourgrtkidos]

Oh, come now???? You.... buy coca-cola!!!! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/nono.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="nono"> I HAVE to have a horrid poison Pepsi every couple days..... or my body goes into withdrawls from lack of food additives, coloring and chemicals!

 

[Lucky Charm]

<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/oops.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="oops">T<br>
I have a question about bleach....seriously.<br>
I thought it breaks down to salt and water. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/headscratch.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="headscratch"><br><br><br>
I love bleach, but would give it up.

 

[fourgrtkidos]

No.... it's horrible. Go to Natural body care and products forum.... or something like that.

 

[fourgrtkidos]

Actually vinegar will kill more better than bleach. For example if you have yeast infection and say baby has thrush.... to kill the yeast spores you would need so much bleach in your laundry that it would burn holes in your clothes. Howevr, vinegar in the load would not harm clothes and would kill yeast spores in our clothes fabric and in the washer's tub.

 

[AllyRae]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>oceanbaby</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">A woman on another thread said that she considers abortions unnatural family living. So in her opinion, only pro-lifers are really living a natural life. I obviously think this is ridiculous, but it just goes to show how different of an attitude people have about this.</div>
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LMAO...that was me who said that, but "in her opinion, only pro-lifers are really living a natural life" is NOT my opinion. I just said that I couldn't understand why someone can consider abortions as part of a natural lifestyle (especially when some people consider medicated births as unnatural....aren't they both medical interventions used to alter the natural course of childbirth/pregnancy?) Although I am strongly against abortion, I would never assume that one is not practicing natural family living if they had one. After all, how do I know what they do. I'm sure natural family living doesn't really involve living in a house with vinyl or aluminum siding with electric appliances and non-dirt floors...but do I think people who live in traditional houses can't practice NFL? Of course not. NOONE can practice every aspect of NFL...it's impossible in today's society.<br><br>
So, I'm one of those people who think you can't contain someone in a box and slap a label on it. I practice attachment parenting and some aspects of NFL...but don't you dare classify me as mainstream because I don't practice EVERY aspect of NFL...it's simply impossible (I mean, come on...do you really expect me to believe that a computer running on electricity is really natural?) Same with the whole pro-life/choice thing....I never implied that you can't be NFL if you weren't pro-life (which by the way, irks me when I hear someone call it "anti-choice"...do I call pro-choice "anti-life"??). Anyhow...yeah. So, I guess my "opinion" got misconstrued....I'm really not one of those "you don't do it my way so you must not be doing it right" people... <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[oceanbaby]

I do use vinegar for cleaning, but it didn't work on my stinky hemp. I know others have had success with it though, so maybe I am just hemp impaired!

 

[fourgrtkidos]

Ha, so we're both hemp impaired, soda drinkin' National Football Leageing fools!

 

[jadegirl553]

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<div>Originally Posted by <strong>Heavenly</strong></div>
<div style="font-style:italic;">Well I notice a lot of people saying in arguments "well this is Mothering and I am a Mother" or "this is a board about being a Mother." No, it is called Mothering because it is based on Mothering magazine. So IMO the discussions should be based on the types of things Mothering magazine talks about. If Mothering magazine started posting about doing CIO with a 6 week old or formula feeding by choice I wouldn't read it any more. That's just me...</div>
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That's exactly what I was thinking! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/shy.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="innocent"> Only you said it much better than I could!