There is a large population of parents who subscribe to the total natural parenting experience, which includes, baby-wearing, co-sleeping and homeschooling their children. Each parent has a different style of parenting and each child is unique. I was curious, however, about some of these natural parenting techniques. I did wear my babies when they were little, co-slept because it was easier. I must confess, I would have to be heavily medicated to home school (kidding). That’s because I’m not really that great at following a strict teaching schedule. However, I could learn a thing or two, so I went to find the best of all these crazy natural parenting techniques.
BABY WEARING
TheBabyWearer.com has a great article about the Benefits of Baby Wearing for beginners. Some of the benefits are bonding with parents, hands free breast feeding, carrying, sleeping, cleaning. Also children are learning more about their world strapped to a parent than they do alone in a crib.
AllModernbaby has just about every baby carrier you can imagine. Their prices are pretty standard, in the $50 to $100 range, but if you think about it, baby carriers are less expensive than strollers, they are washable and you can use them for more than one kid. However if you are looking for a deal on baby carriers, I would find which one you like and wait for it to go on sale (or buy a comparable sale version) or try Esty.com or Ebay.com for different prices and varieties. My favorite for my kids was the mei tei carrier, but you will want to find your perfect fit and style as each body, child and family has different preferences and needs.
CO-SLEEPING
I also admit to co-sleeping with my little newborn. With my first it was to be as close as I could be to my child, with my last it was to be able to do midnight feedings as fast and efficiently as possible so I could go back to sleep…oh and be as close as possible of course :-). I was a little worried about just sleeping with my newborn, although they have fallen asleep on my chest many a time, I did want to make sure that I had a safe place for my wee ones to sleep in the bed with us.
I found that the First Years Co-Sleeper was the easiest to use with very young children as I always felt that they were safe beside me. Walmart sells them for $39.00. After the first nine months we transitioned the babies to a crib beside our bed and at 19 months to their own room, but my five year old still sneaks into the bed every night so make your own rules and choices regarding co-sleeping. The Natural Child.org has great suggestions and reasons to support co-sleeping.
HOME SCHOOLING
Homeschool.com is a great online resource for all homeschoolers. This site pretty much offers everything you need to know to start your homeschooling adventure. The great thing a homeschooling option is that it gives the parent control over the level of education their child receives as some public schools in America are sadly lacking. With idea of homeschooling children growing in popularity, many communities of homeschoolers have banded together and have provided alternative school options. Homeschooling is also a great resource for parents with exceptionally gifted or special needs children. While I may not be jumping in to homeschooling (just yet), I did notice that the website offers freebies like a free curriculum , free printables and field trips. Even if you don’t want to homeschool full time, you can utilize some of these resources to help aid and support your child’s education. This additional teaching is great for both parent and child as you can be assured that you are enriching your child’s learning experiences. 
So here are some more natural parenting techniques, products and services that help aid parents in their quest to be the best parent they are capable of being.
