Jaime Lynn Grumet poses with her son with one breast exposed and him sucking on it
The recent Time magazine cover it features a lady and a toddler standing on a chair whilst, suckling on one of her breasts. The controversial cover has caused some debate over the approach to “attachment parenting.”
Attachment parenting is a philosophy set on parents nurturing a connection with their children. A technique popularized in The Baby Book by Dr. William Sears. The approach to attachment parenting focuses on building a secure environment for the child, which fosters a strong attachment to its primary caregivers.
Jaime Lynn Grumet, is the young mother featured on the cover and some backlash to her choice of parenting has set in. Fox writer, Dr. Keith Ablow, questions her intentions of being on the cover. Calling her “the poster woman for ‘attachment parenting’” and going on to criticizing her on long-term effects it may have on her son.
“When he enters school later in his young life he may be ridiculed for it. And these realities hint at a woman who could (and I have not evaluated her) have very poor boundaries and be willing or likely not only to nurture a child, but to absorb him, deny him his personhood and render him no more than her appendage.”
Some others beg to differ on the situation. Co-founder of Best for Babes, Bettina Forbes, supports women who want to continue nursing their children well past the six months of infancy that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. Forbes is enthusiastic at future prospects the cover holds for breastfeeding mothers, it “will make mainstream America less squeamish” about women breastfeeding children of any age.”
Reactions to Time’s cover have sparked much debate between conventional forms of childcare to “extreme parenting.” Retailers haven’t yet responded to any comments on the cover’s release, whether it will be shown on stands. But Rick Stengel, Time Editor has not heard of any complaints by any retailers concerning the cover, though recognizes the cover to be “provocative.”
