Attachment parenting has been a hot topic in recent months, with celebrities such as Mayim Bialik and Alicia Silverstone singing its praises, and now iconic magazine TIME has joined in the discussion with a controversial cover featuring a mother breastfeeding her three-year old.

On the cover, Los Angeles mother Jamie Lynne Grumet is seen breastfeeding her wide-eyed son Aram as he stands on a small wooden chair. In a feature inside the magazine, Ms Grumet says she also breastfeeds her five-year old adopted son, Samuel.

She tells TIME that her own mother breastfed her until she was six, and says she considers extended breastfeeding to be ‘biologically normal’.

‘There are people who tell me that it’s child molestation,’ she said. ‘I really don’t think I can reason with those people. There seems to be a war going on between conventional parenting and attachment parenting. That’s what I want to avoid. I want everyone to be encouraging. We’re not opposing teams.’

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Attachment parenting? What is it?
Parenting manuals make parents feel inadequate, study saysThe term ‘attachment parenting’ was coined by US paediatrician Dr William Sears, and describes a child-led approach to parenting which includes extended breastfeeding, co-sleeping and babywearing. Ms Grumet is a big advocate of Dr Sears’ techniques, describing him as a ‘gentle spirit’.I’ve read all his books. I find what he’s saying to be non-judgemental and relevant to what’s happening today and what we’re finding out about some of the issues that are popping up with our children’s health.’Ms Grumet laughs off the ‘hippy’ tag that that is often associated with those who practice attachment parenting, instead describing it as ‘biologically normal’.The World Health Organisation agrees that there are definite benefits associated with extended breastfeeding, recommending that infants be exclusively breastfed for a minimum of six months, and that breastfeeding alongside the introduction of solid foods should continue until at least two years of age.Ms Grumet also describes for TIME how she established breastfeeding with her son, Samuel, whom she adopted from Ethiopia in 2010. ‘Being able to give him that with the trauma that he faced was really, really important to me,’ she said. Now aged five, Ms Grumet says he no longer latches as frequently, but she does still breastfeed him ‘maybe once a month’.Confident in the face of criticism, Ms Grumet expresses anger at those who judge her for choosing to breastfeed her children beyond the accepted societal norm.‘Motherhood is hard enough then to hear how you are caring for your child is “weird” or makes people “uncomfortable” is almost too much to handle,’ she said, adding that she recalls fond memories of being breastfed as a child.‘It’s really warm. You feel comforted, nurtured and really, really loved. I had so much self-confidence as a child, and I know it’s from that.’The controversial cover is causing an international stir, with #TIME trending strongly on Twitter.

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