Time Magazine has taken on its share of tyrants and radicals in the past, but I’m not sure the publication has ever focused on an issue as divisive as attachment parenting. The practice involves mothers co-sleeping with their children, wearing them in a sling and breastfeeding them until four, five or even six years old. Those who utilize the method almost always swear by it. Those who don’t often find it gross, creepy and distasteful.
It’s not surprising Time Magazine found enough intrigue and material in attachment parenting to place it on the cover, but the way in which editors chose to confront readers with the issue is certainly a bit shocking. Take a look at the cover below…
You don’t often think of Time Magazine as a publication that would try to sell copies through shock value, but there’s no way the publisher didn’t know this cover would generate strong opinions. Last year, NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne complained about a woman breastfeeding at the supermarket, and he was inundated with so many angry messages, he had to publicly apologize. Earlier this year, a fake Kraft ad of a child breastfeeding with an Oreo in his hand hit the Internet, and people freaked out so much the company had to release a statement saying it was a hoax.
Every woman has her own ideas about raising children and her own ideas about where it’s appropriate to breastfeed and how old it’s appropriate to breastfeed kids until. Time Magazine knew this shit storm was coming, but then again, with something like attachment parents, a group who have long been defiant in the face of criticism, maybe a controversial and graphic picture really was the best way for some Americans to be introduced to them.
What do you think? Is Time’s cover over the top or just right? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…
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