Out Of the Womb, Into the World – New Trends From Progressive Parent-Land

• Lactivism: Seems like our society should be intelligent enough to know breastfeeding is a natural way to nourish babies, and appreciate how mothers often have to make do with whatever “nursing station” is available (which, unless you’re at home or in a mall, is usually not much). But recent controversies are throwing public breastfeeding into the media spotlight, proving some folks still just don’t get it. In 2006 a woman was kicked off a Delta airlines flight for breastfeeding during a nighttime flight (this was after a three hour delay — and she was sitting in the back of plane). Last year a mother was told to stop breastfeeding her child in a commons area of a Ronald McDonald House charity where her baby was recovering from brain surgery. In response, “lactivist” moms are staging “nurse-ins” at places known to remove breastfeeding mothers. Their message is hitting home; more states are moving to legislate protection for a mother’s right to breastfeed, and workplaces, restaurants and other public spaces are establishing lactation rooms. And because breastfeeding boosts IQ, you can bet the upcoming generation will be smart enough to maintain and extend their mother’s efforts.

• Diaper-Free Babies: Forget potty training your toddler — why not start ‘em even younger? Primitive Mayan Indians didn’t diaper their babies before placing them in carrying pouches — the babies were already potty trained. Now the idea is catching on in our culture. DiaperFreeBaby.org is a community of parents who promote a natural approach to responding to babies’ bathroom needs. Much like reading a six-week-old’s cues signaling it’s time for food or a nap, parents read their baby’s sounds and signs to rush him or her off to the potty, in a process that has been dubbed “elimination communication.” Imagine if all parents turned into “potty whisperers” — landfills would relieve themselves of the 27.4 billion disposable plastic diapers dumped there each year!

• Nature Deficit Disorder: Today’s kids are wired, spending 44 hours a week connected to iPods, video games, TVs, and computers (not to mention Starbucks drinks, now popular among the tweener set). Richard Louv was so concerned with the divide between today’s younger generation and the great outdoors that he wrote a book: Last Child in the Woods (Algonquin Books, 2005). Rick Blaine, father of two preschoolers, read it and was shocked to learn that building tree forts can be illegal. Applying some of Louv’s suggestions, he and his wife Amy take their kids wading in streams near their Northern Virginia home or out in the vegetable garden. The kids love observing animals, bugs, and birds. The Blaines are part of a growing movement among parents and families who are introducing woods, fields, and creeks as a playground. Let’s hope the trend keeps going.

While writing this article, Jenny Rough realized she needs to work through some inner obstacles of her own… preferably on a procreation vacation.