Natural Parenting Blog Par-tay!!

Jenny, who is the mother to my favorite doula baby (who can be seen in the green sleeper in my post: What I do.... ...the baby, not Jenny *snicker*), over at The Peaceful Housewife is hosting a blog party. It's a great way to get to know some parents who are parenting their children naturally. What does that mean, you ask...? For the most part it means parenting with gentleness, grace, patience, kindness, and so on. When parenting this way you are aware of your child and his/her needs, against the use of corporal punishment, being real with your child(ren) and helping them grow through relationship, not dictatorship.

So without further delay, here are my answers to the questions Jenny posed on her blog. :)

1. How many children do you have and how old are they?

My husband and I have four children. They are 13, 11, 8, and 5. Three girls and a boy. In that order.

2. Do you have a partner or are you a single parent?

We have been married for 13.5 years. :)

3. What are your "hot button" parenting issues?

*Deep breath*...here we go.....

- Making educated and informed decisions about birth.

- Making educated and informed decisions about vaccination.

- Circumcision - I'm against it. Guess that makes me a bit of an intactivist.

- Breastfeeding - I'm for it. duh.

- Babywise - I am completely and wholeheartedly against it. Don't get me started.....

- Spanking - I'm against it.

- Babywearing - Think all new parents should be informed about it and the many benefits.

- Nutrition - From pregnancy to children to pretty much everyone. I'm for it. *snicker* It's a hot button for me because people need to stop and think about what they are feeding their bodies and their children.

4. Have you made any parenting choices that you didn't think you would make before you were a parent, i.e. cloth diapering a child when you previously thought it was disgusting?

- Cloth diapers

- Not vaccinating

- Home birth

- I didn't know about babywearing until my third was born but I'm not sure if that counts for this catergory. I

5. Is there one book or person in particular that's heavily influenced your parenting choices?

Honestly, not really. It's just something that has evolved in my life.

6. If you had to use one word to describe each of your children using only one word, what word would you use?

E - Studious

A - Creative

G - Nutty

M - Busy

7. Is there one parenting decision you regret more than others and wish you could change?

I wish more than anything that I could go back and NOT use Babywise.

8. Is there an area of your parenting you wish you were better at?

Patience.

9. Is there one particular food or type of food you could eat every day?

Chocolate. And we should probably reword, omitting the word "could". ;)

10. Vanilla ice cream or chocolate?

Chocolate. In milk.

11. What is your guilty pleasure?

My chocolate stash (does anyone see a recurring theme here?????)

12. If you could be part of a television show, which would it be?

The only one I can think of is One Born Every Minute. I would show them just how absolutely absurd they are approaching women and birth.

Want to meet Jenny and other parents who have joined the Natural Parenting Blog Party? Go on over to Jenny's blog, The Peaceful Housewife and scroll down just a bit to find the link list of those participating. :)