Practicing ‘Instinctive Parenting’ alone will not make us perfect parents, nor will our children be without fault. It will though, instil a deep confidence in our ability to respond appropriately and intuitively to our baby’s needs. Recognizing our own needs in the process of responding to our baby’s is paramount for all parenting styles and is likely to result in a more balanced relationship. There is a time to say yes and a time to say ‘time out’. What all babies need most is a happy, rested parent. Parents should have an appreciation for their own needs and wherever possible engage the support of partners, friends and relatives, to be able to enjoy some ‘Me’ time. This not only gives us time to revitalise our body, mind and spirit, our babies will also profit from regular contact with other caring adults or siblings.

Parenting in western cultures can sometimes seem a difficult, isolating and overwhelming task, regardless of how much we love our children. Whether we are working or stay at home parents, many of us express a struggle to maintain a life balance of work, parenting, play and rest. It is no wonder! Unlike hundreds of less developed cultures around the world, we no longer live in co-operative community environments or have the support of extended family. Most of us don’t have the luxury of 'home' help and the '‘burden’ of parenting can, at times, be the cause of an enormous amount of stress and worry. The reality of living in nuclear family structures, where one or both parents must work, makes this ‘ideal’ of parenting seem a virtual impossibility. At least with the aid of a comfortable, versatile baby carrier or a variety of carriers, the hours that we do spend with our baby are made easier by being able to meet their biological need for closeness, while we are freer to engage in other activities simultaneously. A more contented happy baby and a parent who is less stressed is a worthy reward.

If we look to other indigenous cultures, we will see babies almost constantly toted about in a sling or carrier by a mother engaged in busy work or social activities. Her baby is neither the centre of attention nor considered a burden. Babies spend their days happily dozing against the familiar, warm and comforting presence of their mother’s body, and when awake are completely entertained by her movements, activities and the changes to their visual and tactile environment. When hungry, bored or tired they have no need to cry or fuss because their mothers are readily available to respond to their non-crying cues.

Instinctive parenting promotes inter-dependence. Children, who have learned to trust their parent’s ability to be responsive and caring, in turn, grow to trust themselves to be the same. With a positive self- image, it is only natural that these children will be better able to parent their children and each generation that follows will have more compassion and commitment to living in harmony with themselves, the environment and those around them.