Mayim Bialik Divorce Not Because of Attachment Parenting
Why has the Mayim Bialik divorce story been getting so much media coverage? A former child star, and current supporting actress is divorcing her husband of nine years. Isn't she just one of many?
Seems to me that the interest stems not from the divorce, but from the idea that the divorce may have had something to do with the whole family sleeping in the same bed, or that Mayim nursed her boys beyond the age of two.
Bialik is an advocate of attachment parenting. She even wrote a book about the theory which advocates close contact between the parents and children to increase the resiliency of the children.
So we are blaming their parenting philosophy for her marriage problems?
Mayim wrote a thoughtful post at Kveller.com, in an attempt to control the message before the media did.
She wrote:
Divorce is terribly sad, painful and incomprehensible for children. It is not something we have decided lightly.
The hands-on style of parenting we practice played no role in the changes that led to this decision; relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose.
The main priority for us now is to make the transition to two loving homes as smooth and painless as possible. Our sons deserve parents committed to their growth and health and that’s what we are focusing on. Our privacy has always been important and is even more so now, and we thank you in advance for respecting it as we negotiate this new terrain.
We will be ok.
I'm not sure if she was the first to bring up the parenting issue, or if it was the LA Times who framed it that way. But either way, since Bialik mentioned it in her announcement, almost every news story has in one way or another implied that attachment parenting was a contributing factor in the divorce.
I think this is the first time we have blamed a celebrity divorce on parenting choices. No one asked Heidi Klum if the reason she and Seal broke up was because of the way she parented. No one blamed parenting two kids on Amy Poehler and Will Arnett's breakup (I'm still not over that one).
So what's up with the attachment parenting angle on this divorce? I think it shows a profound discomfort with extended breastfeeding and the family bed -- which is a lot less prurient than detractors would have you think.
I also think that the backlash against attachment parenting and its adherents is totally misplaced. Yes, many fanatical AP-proponents can be annoying. But honestly, how many are actually out there?
There is no question that Mayim and her (ex)husband Michael were on the fanatical side of attachment parenting. But that doesn't make a divorce any more (or less) likely -- or painful.
Image: wenn.com
Want more chaos? Last year, I examined the phenomenon of Muppetmania.
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