Dr. William Sears is no new name in the parenting arena. For nearly forty years, William Sears has been an influential and respected voice in the area of parenting. In this episode of HealthMade radio, Dr. Michael Karlfeldt discusses Dr. Sear’s child-rearing philosophies pertaining to eating, sleeping, and parenting.
Combining the theories and ideas of several psychologists and medical doctors with his own personal experience, Dr. Sears is the founding father of the widely recognized concept of attachment parenting. Sears’ method is based on his own experiences with parents and children: one part raising eight kids including a child with special needs and another part doctoring. His wife, Martha, not only co-writes many of the books, she provides much of the substance. At the office, Sears listens carefully to his patients — their problems, their solutions, what works, what doesn’t. Dr. Sears has been in pediatrics long enough to see the impact of technology in scientific studies that provide the data that backs his theories and practices in attachment parenting, nutrition, and healthy child-rearing.
At the core is what he calls “attachment parenting” — forming a bond between parent and child as early as the womb and building on that bond for all matters of child-rearing.
Very briefly put, the ultimate long term goal of attachment parenting is enabling children to form secure attachments to their caregivers (typically their parents) which results from attachment theory research that has demonstrated are crucial to healthy emotional child development.
“Parenting is a long term investment. You put in in the early years, you get it back in the later years.” Dr. Sears says..
In this episode learn about
- Sleeping training
- Helicopter Parenting vs Attachment Parenting
- The Importance of early nutrition
- The questions to ask your pediatrician when medical intervention is recommended
- Safe Birthing and the microbiome
Highlights:
Trusting a mother’s instinct.
“Mommy brain” is for real – so is “daddy’s brain.” A must-read article in Scientific Mind, October 2015, explores the reality that Dr. Sears has always written about, birthing a baby and parenting a child changes all the brains involved in this wonderful process: mommy, daddy, and baby – for the better. – https://www.askdrsears.com/news/mommy-brain
Sears states that every child is born with innate needs as well as an ability to give cues about those needs.
As parents use their intuition and instinct to respond to their children, their children learn to cue better which, in turn, helps parents respond better.
A pediatrician’s role should be supporting the mother’s instinct and helping her become aware of those instincts and have the confidence to act on them.
Helicopter Parenting vs Attachment Parenting
“Parenting in a nutshell: giving your children the tools to succeed in life” – Dr. Bill Sears
Protecting and nurturing a young toddling child looks different than protecting and nurturing the rambunctious elementary child. Allowing the child to grow, experience natural consequences of their actions, and empowering them to make choices and mistakes are all part of “the tools” a parent is gifting to their child.
Nutrition, Birth and the MicroBiomeThe number one problem in the health of our children is how we feed our children. The brain is most susceptible to nutrition. “It’s important,” Doctor Sears says, “to consider your food choices while pregnant especially in the last 3 months of pregnancy when your baby’s brain is developing the most.”
Listen to learn:
- How long he recommends breastfeeding
- Top 3 foods to feed your 6 – 8 months
- How to help your child crave quality healthy foods
- How to overcome picky eaters
- Grazers verses gorgers
The microbiome and birth are two topics discussed in length.
- How does the birth process affect the infant?
- What can be done to support natural birth?
- Rethinking the Midwives vs. OB support system
- “New” information about the microbiome and its impact on the health and well-being newborns
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Dr. Sears has completed residencies at both Harvard Medical School’s Children’s Hospital in Boston and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, the largest children’s hospital in the world.
He is currently an associate clinical professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine and acts, among other things, as a medical and parenting consultant for BabyTalk Magazine.
Dr. Sears has authored or co-authored more than 30 books, including the popular ‘Sears Parenting Library’ that has been offering advice to parents for many years and giving them tools to help build strong, trusting relationships with their children.
