A Semi- Crunchy Mum

I heard the phrase 'crunchy mums' for the first time only last week and it has really got me thinking. ( If it was about parents liking the golden chocolaty goodness that is Cadbury's crunchie bars then I am one of those! ) Google searching comes up with the ever wonderful Urban dictionary's description

Mother who supports homebirth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, gentle discipline, etc. One who questions established medical authority; tends to be vegetarian and/or prepare all-organic foods.

I think that another way to describe a 'crunchy mum' therefore is one who attains to a natural, holisitc, organic, environmentally friendly eco life.  A modern day hippy mum.  




Parents are very often typecast,  the teen mum, the soccer mum, the working mum, the single mum.  Crunchy mum was a new term to me though.  Attending baby groups has shown me that most parents (not all) fall into two groups.  There are those that extended breastfeed, practice baby led weaning, cloth nappies, baby wearing, and co-sleep.  These are your 'crunchy mums'.  There are then those that may have breastfed for a week or two, or may have started on bottles, who wean earlier and onto purees and who use disposable nappies.  I do not believe that one is right and one is wrong, they are both personal choices and being the best parent is about making choices that are right for you and your baby.



But I don't know where I fit in.  I think I am a bit flakey.  I breastfed for eight months, I don't count this as extended but equally I think it is quite an achievement.  I love cloth nappies, but we do use mostly disposables at night and not the eco friendly ones.  I love my sling, but you will most often find me pushing my pushchair.  Co-sleeping is not for me- I like my own space too much, but we did have Dylan in with us for most of the first 6 weeks to make life more peaceful.  I very rarely make my own baby food mush.   I am not a teen mum, nor a single mum, I work two days a week so am not really a working mum or a SAHM.  I like to think that I am just another mum trying to do my best for my son.

I never expected that I would be the parent that I am.  Cloth nappies had not crossed my mind until after Dylan was born, similarly the sling was not an essential until he was a few weeks old.  I have never been particularly green in the past, and becoming a parent has encouraged my first steps in that direction.  I am still very far from being environmentally friendly, and can't see myself at any organic veg markets in the foreseeable future but one step at a time.


 So can you be a semi-crunchy mum? And more importantly, where did the word 'crunchy' come from?

parenting