When it comes to motherhood, everyone has an opinion on how it should be done. So it was no surprise when 26-year-old model Jamie Grumet caused a near-cosmic stir when she posed on the cover of Time Magazine, breastfeeding her nearly 4-year-old son.

Grumet’s approach to motherhood is attachment parenting, which is a concept developed by Dr. William Sears, 72, as outlined in his 1992 book, “The Baby Book.”

Sears, raised by a single mother himself, believes that moms should be in near constant contact with their child, wearing their baby if possible, letting them sleep in the same bed with them, and tending to their every want and need.

Of the many benefits of this practice, Sears argues that attachment parenting produces children who are physically, emotionally and psychologically healthy, stating that children who are a product of this kind of parenting rarely – and possibly even never – turn out to be bullies or have other developmental issues.

One of the other prongs of attachment parenting is breastfeeding until the mother  – and child – feel the time is right to stop, which explains why Grumet still breastfeeds her almost 4-year-old son.

Grumet, who told The Today Show that she knew full well what she was getting into by posing so provocatively on the Time Magazine cover, says she was breast fed herself until she was six years old, and believes 100% in the concepts of attachment parenting.
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More or less, my husband and I eat very healthily. Visiting family often roll their eyes at us for the complete lack of food in our house, or rather, food that they’ll actually eat. We limit processed foods and rely mostly on homemade meals made of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. We, like most people, splurge now and then. It’s a life of moderation, we say.

The occasional burger during a Friday happy hour was never a big deal. This “sometimes” treat would always be regretted but nevertheless enjoyed in the moment. However, it recently became a big deal when our nearly 2-year-old daughter asked for a French fry at one of these splurgy dinners.

I cringed. He cringed. I very, very hesitantly gave her the smallest one I could find. She, of course, asked for another. At almost two-years-old, a French fry is a foreign food to her. I told my husband that our moderation should be hers, too, and that the occasional fry wasn’t totally out of line.

He disagreed, and the comment he shared with me really struck a chord. “If we wouldn’t feed it to her, we shouldn’t be eating it either.”
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Have you ever wanted to look at all the different research studies about nutrition reviewed by DietsInReview in one place and see what can be deduced from all of the findings together? That is basically what psychologists call a literature review. If you are paying attention, the findings of a literature review probably will not be too surprising. I wasn’t too surprised by the Good Morning America (GMA) headline “Healthy Diet Best for ADHD Kids” based off a recent literature review by J. Gordon MIllichap, MD and Michelle M. Yee, CPNP titled “The Diet Factor in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” An “ADHD Diet” is something we have talked about before.

The authors, who work at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, seemed most impressed by a diet high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and low in fats. They also seem somewhat impressed by omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements. The abstract also states that “sugar-restricted, additive/preservative-free, oligoantigenic/elimination, and fatty acid supplements” seem to reduce symptoms of ADHD. Unfortunately, the authors seem to be against recommending additive-free and oligoantigenic/elimination diets, such as the specific carb diet, because they are inconvenient for parents.
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Childhood obesity has been a mainstay in the national media over the past year but was brought to a head in October when a 200 pound – year old Cleveland boy was removed from his home and mother. “This child’s problem was so severe that we had to take custody,” said Mary Louise Madigan of the county’s Department of Children and Family Services.

NBC’s John Yang reports on a more recent case in Chicago, one that potentially will decide the parental custody of a child. Conan Angus, going through a divorce, has brought up the fact that his children are healthier when under his care. Mr Angus points to his soon to be ex-wife’s poor nutritional choices for their children’s meals.

The incidents in Cleveland and Chicago are hardly isolated leading journalists and reporters to wear out the now 3-year old CDC statements on the issue:

• Childhood obesity more than tripled in the last 3 decades.

• The percentage of children ages 6 – 11 in the U.S. who were obese went from 7 percent in 1980 to almost 20 percent in 2008.

•  The percentage of those 12 to 19-years of age who were obese increased from 5 percent to 18 percent over the same period (1980 – 2008).

• In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

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Parenting is the most difficult, most important job you are ever going to have. While there are many happy, feel-good moments, there are also painful and uncomfortable moments; it’s all part of being a parent. Traditionally, one of the most uncomfortable moments for a parent was thought to be the discussion of “the birds and the bees”. While talking to your kids about where babies come from may be difficult, a recent study has revealed that there is another conversation that parents dread more.

The idea of talking to your kids about maintaining a healthy weight is so frightening for parents that more than 20 percent admit to never broaching the subject at all, according to research from the Raising Fit Kids study, a partnership between webMD and Stanford University. Compare that to 5 percent who are uncomfortable discussing alcohol, drugs, and smoking; 10 percent of parents who are uncomfortable discussing sex; and nearly 25 percent of parents who are uncomfortable discussing weight and health. It is probably the same 20 percent of parents that seem to believe that the pediatrician should be the one responsible for discussing health and weight with their children.

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