“Wait, godly?” You might be wondering about that claim. Attachment parenting has a reputation for being humanistic and indulgent, not at all things that the Bible supports. But while AP can be applied that way, it isn’t that by nature. In fact, the “founder” of attachment parenting, Dr. William Sears, is a Christian father of 8. His books established AP as a legitimate, fact-based parenting method and offered parents some practical ideas for what that meant. Since then, much more research and many more books have been written about the subject, and an international organization, Attachment Parenting International, has been formed.
In this series, I am going to go through each of Attachment Parenting International’s 8 Principles of Parenting and present some biblical support for each, as well as share some of our story. I hope this is a blessing to you!
There is so much wisdom in this principle. Scripture has a lot to say about gaining understanding, in fact, most of the book of Proverbs is dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge.
“Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.”
– Proverbs 1:5
I believe that an important part of being a good steward is educating yourself about what you are stewarding. Remember the parable of the talents? The man who was praised for making more money with his talent needed to first know how to best invest that talent in order for that to happen. We are entrusted with something far more valuable than money – we are entrusted with life! How much more, then, should we study and learn!
God has given us 9 months to prepare for our new babies, and I would challenge you to make the most of that time. Learn about birth options. Learn about infant development. Learn about breastfeeding. And discuss things with your spouse too – learning together is a great way to strengthen your relationship!
For me, this part has always been pretty easy. I’m already a bookworm, and I love learning about babies! But it has been so beneficial for me, especially in the areas of natural birth and infant development. We decided to have unmedicated home births after reading about the dangers and ramifications of managed, hospital births. Learning all we could gave us peace of mind and faith in the body that God has given me. And learning about infant and child development has helped us to have realistic expectations of what our children are capable of and how their brains best develop.
When studying these things, especially development, you will probably come across books written from a secular worldview. One of my favorite books is called “The Science of Parenting”, and is written from an evolutionary viewpoint. From what I’ve seen, sometimes Christians write off these kind of books as non-relevant because they come from a different worldview. But while we do have to read with more caution, there is usually a huge depth of information in those books – just without the knowledge of God. Part of being mature as believers means being able to sift through these materials and gain valuable knowledge while skipping over the stuff that doesn’t fit your worldview.
I hope that you found this post to be thought-provoking and interesting! Stay tuned for Part 2: Feed With Love & Respect!
~ Judy
*For a practical list of things to prepare for and read about when getting ready for a baby, please click here: API Principle #1.
