Mayim Bialik Defends Attachment Parenting

Following Time magazine’s controversial recent cover and article about attachment parenting, “The Big Bang Theory” star Mayim Bialik – who wrote the parenting book “Beyond the Sling,” – is speaking out about the topic she cares deeply about.

The 36-year-old actress stopped by Access Hollywood Live on Monday, where she told Billy Bush and Kit Hoover that she feels the cover photo doesn’t necessarily represent the parenting philosophy and was chosen for one reason — to sell magazines.

“I think they purposely chose a jarring awkward pose. Some people do breast feed older children, it’s the not the face of attachment parenting,” she said about the Time magazine cover that features fellow attachment parent Jamie Grumet and her almost-4-year-old son, Aram, breast-feeding.

“I think Time magazine has really sensationalized it by saying, ‘Are You Mom Enough?’ No one in attachment parenting circles feels like we’re more or better if we nurse an older kid, and it’s not even standard in many circles,” she explained.

The actress and mother of two said her youngest son, Frederick, still breastfeeds.

“My little guy is still in the threes and he still will breastfeed on occasion. I don’t nurse him in public and there are a lot of boundaries and rules around it,” she told Billy and Kit. “There’s still tremendous developmental and psychological bonding that occurs through breast feeding… He’s on the path to weaning, all children wean. I want him to be independent.”

Adding, “There’s no scientific evidence that there is anything wrong with breastfeeding an older baby or older child.”

Mayim also dispelled the idea that there any lasting sexual issues that could arise from a child who breastfeeds for a longer time than many are accustomed to.

“The notion that breasts are only sexual is simply not true,” she said explaining that in many cultures outside the United States it is quite common to breastfeed children longer. “It’s not for everyone and no one is saying it has to be.

“The notion that you have to make a child independent as soon as possible is simply not the only way to get an independent child later on,” she told Billy and Kit.

Mayim’s parenting book, “Beyond the Sling,” is in stores now.