What is Natural Family Living?

[stash]

According to Peggy O'Mara, Editor of Mothering Magazine:

Here are some of the basic ideas of natural family living, as I understand it:

- Pregnancy and birth are normal processes that do not require drugs or interventions.
- Breastmilk is the optimum food for humans.
- Cosleeping helps to facilitate successful breastfeeding and bonding.
- Mothers and babies need to be together, especially during the first three to five years of life Human babies have a need to be touched and to be held in arms.
- It is important to cultivate a community of like-minded families for friendship, information, and support.
- Eat food that is in as natural a state as possible.
- The human body has the capacity to fight off illness without the use of drugs and interventions.
- Unstructured play is essential to the full development of the human imagination.
- Hitting and punishment are un-necessary when children’s natural desire to cooperate is engaged to resolve conflicts.

[obrown060405]

Thanks for posting this :)

[Sugar&Spice]

Yey! Great info. This is naturally (no pun intended) how I try to live my life and I'm so happy to find this forum. Thanks!

[NLfeisty_yank]

According to Peggy O'Mara, Editor of Mothering Magazine:

Here are some of the basic ideas of natural family living, as I understand it:

- Pregnancy and birth are normal processes that do not require drugs or interventions.
- Breastmilk is the optimum food for humans.
- Cosleeping helps to facilitate successful breastfeeding and bonding.
- Mothers and babies need to be together, especially during the first three to five years of life Human babies have a need to be touched and to be held in arms.
- It is important to cultivate a community of like-minded families for friendship, information, and support.
- Eat food that is in as natural a state as possible.
- The human body has the capacity to fight off illness without the use of drugs and interventions.
- Unstructured play is essential to the full development of the human imagination.
- Hitting and punishment are un-necessary when children’s natural desire to cooperate is engaged to resolve conflicts.

Well, the first one is great if you're lucky enough for it to go that way. In my case, my daughter was too big to come out without intervention.

I do agree with most of it apart from co-sleeping. It just wasn't something my husband or I wanted to do. We had Sofia in our room sleeping in her crib until she was past the risk of crib death, but we were terrified of rolling over on her.

I definitely think we eat food as naturally as possible. I've got Celiac disease and gluten is found in nearly every packaged food, so we make everything from scratch.

Janel

[Bridget]

oops

[hippiechk7]

Hi! I'm pretty new to APA. I was looking around and the "Natural Family Living" interested me because my DH and I are trying to turn our family more in that direction. Thanks for clarifying what this forum is intended to promote - I can't wait to read and discuss!:hi:

[haydensmom]

bump

[amy_elise]

This is how I was raised and how I'd like to raise my baby!

[anonsouthernbell]

Well, the first one is great if you're lucky enough for it to go that way. In my case, my daughter was too big to come out without intervention.

I do agree with most of it apart from co-sleeping. It just wasn't something my husband or I wanted to do. We had Sofia in our room sleeping in her crib until she was past the risk of crib death, but we were terrified of rolling over on her.

I definitely think we eat food as naturally as possible. I've got Celiac disease and gluten is found in nearly every packaged food, so we make everything from scratch.

Janel

I know that this was posted awhile ago but I just wanted to say that according to Dr. James McKenna you were co-sleeping you just weren't co-bedding. :)

[johntoyhurry]

Best ideas for Natural Family Living
1.Mothers and babies need to be together
2.Cosleeping helps to facilitate successful breastfeeding and bonding.
3.Breastmilk is the optimum food for humans.
4.Eat food that is in as natural a state as possible.
5.It is important to cultivate a community of like-minded families for friendship.

[gloriatrstn]

You shared such a valuable guide with us. It is vey much useful for me, I found it from google.com and I can 't thank you enough for it, it is really best to share with us.

[CJinWA]

I know that this was posted awhile ago but I just wanted to say that according to Dr. James McKenna you were co-sleeping you just weren't co-bedding. :)
I was just wondering about that because I'd heard that somewhere else too. DH wasn't keen on bedsharing for the same reason as PP - didn't want to roll over on DS. I occasionally brought him in anyways, for my ease, but once he hit about 6 months he was just as disinterested in being in bed with me as DH was in having in bed with us. We did have him in our room for quite a while alhtough he is in his own room now.