Thursday, September 18, 2014

Ancestral Parenting Product Review

I recently listened to an audio book on ancestral parenting. Here is my review!
About the Product:

Ancestral Parenting (instinctual parenting or attachment parenting) is parenting the way nature intended humans to parent instead of parenting according to what the particular society you live within tells you how to parent. This method of parenting practices keeping baby close and responding to baby's needs when the demand is there, giving baby the most natural start at life by having a medical free vaginal birth and breastfeeding, practicing elimination communication, and baby wearing. This may not be the most realistic form of parenting in today's societies BUT it is the natural way and it is what the baby expects once it enters the world. This website has an audio book to download and comes with very informative printed information that goes a little deeper into how to accomplish the different practices that come along with ancestral parenting.

What I Like About the Product:

I will first say that I love that this comes on an audio book. For a very busy "attached" mama like myself I do not always have the time to sit down and crack open a book (although I long for those days again). It was nice to be cooking dinner and this playing on the iPad or through the phone on the way to work. I also like that this speaks to mothers of color.It encourages them to look back to their roots and "reclaim" them. Often times in our society we are told to parent against what we think is right and just do things because our friends, family, and society approves. This sometimes comes to the detriment of the baby. 

Now that it has become more popular to be more natural this audio book speaks to the new mama that is looking to be more natural in her approach to parenting and childbirth and it even goes into some detail about natural healing and the use of natural remedies and essential oils for alternate medical care.

Waymatea's voice is very calm and serene as she reads through the chapters. I find that her voice put in a mental state to want to learn and also when chaos was ensuing around me, her gentle voice actually providing some calm. No bellowing or loud speaking just calm. Her voice keeps with the theme of the book. Calm and connected.

I like how the book explains the author's journey into ancestral parenting. It reminded me of how I stumbled upon this information during my initial parenting journey. I had no idea it had a name I was simply doing what felt right! It was nice to hear someone else as shocked as I was and experienced that same "ah ha!" moment.



What I Did Not Like About the Product:

The book to me seemed like an intro into something deeper with all the topics that were discussed. I was actually looking forward to learn more about each topic in hopes to hear some things that I didn't already know but felt it fell short with that expectation. Maybe perhaps a series of audio books to go along with this that talks in lengths about each practice. As I mentioned earlier, to the new mama that is looking to see what this is all about this is great but I would have liked to see more detail, more depth, more  guidance to the practices. I would have also liked to see more examples demonstrated from the different cultures on each practice. There were some examples given but I would have liked to see more mamas of color represented.

I would have liked to see better resources for the information. I heard a quote from Wikipedia, for example, which is not a credible website. To me I knew the information and have done some research myself so I knew the statement to be true but good resources makes the information more credible. 


Overall: 

Overall I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend this book to my readers and new mamas who are looking to get back to their roots and parent in a more natural way. I think this book is a great way to lay down the foundation to further knowledge of ancestral parenting and empower them to stand firm in their decision. The download was quick and easy and the attached information was easy to read. I am looking forwarding to seeing more from the author and I appreciate her for giving me the opportunity to be involved with this project. :)


Author: Waymatea Ellis of Waymatea Centre for Wellness

the audio book is available for download via the website!

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