My Favorite Parenting Resources

photo by Svilen Milev

As a mother who tries to practice attachment parenting, I am grateful there are so many trustworthy resources out there for me to use. Here are my favorite sites to refer to:


General Help
Dr. Sears
I love his site best because it combines attachment parenting (AP) with medical knowledge from a real pediatrician and covers every topic you can think of.

Mama Natural
Genevieve gives great advice via her blog and YouTube videos for those who want not only to practice AP but also to try to live a more natural lifestyle. Although I am nowhere near as crunchy as she, I like to consult her site for basic info about natural practices and opinions and have even adopted some of them, such as skipping baby cereals with Gabe.

Elizabeth Pantley
Elizabeth Pantley is my idol. When I was at my limits with Caden's sleeplessness and no one was giving me the help I needed, a former babysitter came to my aid and introduced me to Pantley's most famous book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution. It changed my life! Pantley has also written books on no-cry solutions for picky eating, separation anxiety, discipline, and potty training.

Breastfeeding Help
La Leche League International
This site not only has answers to every breastfeeding question, but also articles of first-hand experiences with breastfeeding issues, mother-to-mother forums, breastfeeding laws, and links to other helpful resources. You can also find your local chapter to join for support.

Breast Is Best 
BiB is a Facebook page for women to give and receive support for breastfeeding. They share articles, statistics, photos, recipes, other resources, and related products, and answer your questions. Want more privacy? Then join their closed group, Breast Friends United.

Kellymom
Run by an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), this site provides evidence-based information on breastfeeding and answers those tougher and more specific questions about breastfeeding that you can't find elsewhere.

There is one popular AP site I do not like to visit. Those who lean toward AP and natural lifestyles accuse traditionalists of using inappropriate argumentative tactics--like extreme-case scenarios, guilt, and fear--instead of using reason, factual evidence, and respect to convince people to follow their ways. This blogger uses the same shameful tactics, and although we share some ends, I do not agree with her means to get there.

Which parenting sites do you like? Are there any you don't care for?