Singapore Expats

I look like an every day person on the exterior, but am a hippie-mama to the core. My parenting style is likewise.

Any other hippie mamas out there?

(we go by many names: Attachment Parent, Crunchy/Earthy mom, etc. etc. etc. )

Depends on how you define hippie. I am from the hippie era and definitely have a relaxed attitude towards raising my children. What are you looking for?

That definitely qualifies!

How old are your kids, now? Are you originally from Singapore? What types of things do you ( & you and your kids) do for fun?

One is 20 and in the US going to University, the other is 10, she goes to the american school. We travel, play games, shop, go to the beach, usually Sentosa, minature golf, water slides, bowl, etc. Usual activities. We are from the US orignally, but have been here 3 years, our contract is open ended.

How about you?

We just moved here 1 month ago, so I'm still in transition mode (i.e. trying to find the basics for our place, and stuff to make home cozy, etc.). So my life has been wrapped up in that quite a bit. My poor son (3.5 years old) is just dying for some fun & friends. And a decent playground....

Hi.....I consider myself in the modern era. I strongly believe in learning through play. I do not load my daughter with textbooks and academic scores aren't important. I do not force her to study cos I believed it will only drive her away from books.

In Singapore, most parents are very competitive and they want their kids to excel academically. In the end, both lives are miserable. So far, no force works for my daughter...she loves reading.

Awesome! I also support the learn-through-play method....

Hi,if you all ever need a part time domestic helper in you household works plz contact me at ( [email protected] )

Monica..understand that u are trying to advertise yr service....However, its pretty inadequate for you to interrupt our posts when the subjects are totally unrelated. Afterwhile, people will get pissed off and u won't even get a single business.

Hope u get the message.

jinkel wrote:I look like an every day person on the exterior, but am a hippie-mama to the core. My parenting style is likewise.

Any other hippie mamas out there?

(we go by many names: Attachment Parent, Crunchy/Earthy mom, etc. etc. etc. )

Not bad, getting on near to 60 or better and still got youngens at home? Or are you just trying to be something retro? Cause unless you over about 55 you sure aren't a hippie! Unless you are talking about middle age spread.

I am 50+ and was definitely a hippie, attended peace sit ins, my first concert was Jimi Hendrix, however, I am not sure age has to do with being a hippie. It is more state of mind.

How about your attachment parenting styles? Co-sleeping, breastfeeding beliefs? I find in my prenatal bonding sessions that there are many concerns about breastfeeding past 6 months of age, and many are discouraged by other family members from breastfeeding at all. Back in AZ, where we moved here from, a woman was cited for breastfeeding at a public pool. Someone complained to the lifeguard that they found it offensive to see her breastfeeding her child. Comments?

Ha ha ha! Well, no, not a literal hippie from hippie era. (I'm 35) Like CBEDI said, it's more a state of mind.

The reason I say hippie *mama* is I'm really referring to what kind of mom I am. I practice(some of these apply to when my son was younger, of course) Attachment Parenting methods (i.e. baby wearing, extended breastfeeding, gentle discipline, co-sleeping, and sooo many other things). Many people in today's society (at least in the U.S.) view this style of parenting as weird, "out there" "hippie", etc. etc. And the name "hippie mama" was born.

disclaimer: this post was not made to imply that this style of parenting is best. It's just the parenting style that works best for my son and myself, and comes most naturally to *me*. I'm definitely not here to debate/promote one parenting style over another...

Well, for myself, I breastfed my son until he was 22 months old. For me, It felt totally normal. For my family members that were a little put off, I reminded them that the American Acedemy of Pediatrics recommends nursing your child until minimum 1 yr. The World Health Organization recommends nursing your child until 2 years of age. And I made sure I surrounded myself with people (other moms) who felt the same way. This is when support groups are so crucial.

As for being asked *not* to nurse, it's actually illegal in the U.S. to be asked to *not* nurse (I'm happy to look for the article for you, to support my statement). However, if it's private property, anything goes (or doesn't) I believe. My feeling has always been to respect others. I knew that many people were uncomfortable with it (in public), so I never *whipped it out* for all to see. I still did it everywhere in public, but discreetly.

My advice to nervous/hesitant moms would be:
a) Decide what kind of parenting style makes most sense to you
b) Educate yourself! People will be quick to debate with you why your way is not the right way. It will make your life easier if you can support your side with actual research.
c) Choose a pediatrician and Midwife (or OB) who support your vision
d) Surround yourself with a strong support base (support groups, mommy groups who have same pareting philosophy, etc.)

Great advice Kim. And indeed it is a parenting style that will not be for everyone, it is all about informed choices.

The city of Chandler, in AZ, actually passed an ordinance that would allow the staff of public venues,ie the pool, to cite citizens that refused to stop breastfeeding if asked to. A 'bfg sit in' was staged at the next city council, newspaper and television was there and they quickly reversed their stance!