It appears as though shock journalism is alive and well and living beyond the confines of our local news channels. Time Magazine's May cover created quite a stir. Is their readership down? Or did they really want to address attachment parenting?
I'm more likely to believe the former.
To publish an article about attachment parenting is on par with questioning birth control ... so 1960s.
I thought we were past this? Don't we have bigger fish to fry? Isn't the economy in despair? Don't we have troops to bring home?
Instead, Time decides to stir the pot filled with nothing but water and a few Moms who breastfeed their teenagers. Quite frankly, there is nothing to discuss.
I know. My latest video, Gab's Sooper Booby Jooce, gives the impression that a Mom should breastfeed and provide enormous amounts of milk for their children. Luckily, I was one of those women. Six months after I stopped breastfeeding my youngest, I still had bottles of frozen milk in the freezer. It came in handy for pink eye and dry skin as well as feeding my little heart-throb.
Gabrielle Birchak - Gab's Sooper Booby Jooce
However, I didn't make a big deal about it. My very dear friend, who wanted to breastfeed, simply couldn't do it. It was heart breaking for her. She wanted to nurture her child in the same way. But, through her challenges, she found other ways to nurture and love her child. And she was devoted to nurturing her daughter for years, as she stayed home and lived on a tight budget so she could spend every waking and sleeping moment with her daughter.
I on the other hand, went back to work. The bottles of milk in the freezer sure didn't make up for the tears I cried knowing that I'd miss the first time my son would crawl or walk. Ultimately, I quit working and opted to spend my afternoons holding and loving my children in lieu of buying a larger house. I am grateful for a husband who understood my intentions.
Breastfeeding, the last I checked, is a non-issue. Doctors agree that it's beneficial. The most work places now provide private rooms for Moms to pump. Public places don't have a problem with Moms draping a baby blanket over their shoulder to feed their fussy ones.
Additionally, us Moms understand that each of us are different. It's 2012! Unlike Time Magazine, we've moved past our petty differences. Some can breastfeed, and others can't. It is what it is. We find other ways to love and nurture our children. And most importantly, we don't judge each other based on our lactating skills. We don't judge each other because one Mom opts to feed non-organic over organic. We don't judge each other based on the amount of baby weight we've lost.
We understand what each of us are going through: colic babies, messy homes, not enough help, too much help, nosy parents or in-laws, hormones. Parenting is the hardest job a person could ever have, and if anybody understands that it is an exhausted parent, covered in throw-up, low on diapers and on their second day without sleep.
The last thing we need is a magazine to antagonize the relationships between parents. Shame on you, Time Magazine.
If Time Magazine wants to increase their readership, maybe it should move past the 1970s, and address current and topical issues. Like the elections, poverty stricken areas of the country, our economy and (a little self- promotion here) the importance of voting ...
With the direction that the magazine is going, it makes me wonder what Time Magazine has in store for June for Father's Day. Will the editors choose articles like "Bringing Home the Bacon," or "Protecting Your Kids from Beatniks?" Or will they resort to a cover like Dad breastfeeding his child with a fake boob?
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