Leane When it comes to baby sleep, breastfeeding, discipline, and a hundred other things relating to bringing up children, Google seems to just provide us with out dated advise from the 1950s, much of which has been disproven, or even proved to be harmful to our little ones. Instagram has some great, science backed accounts, that are doing their best to normalise, re-educate, and break generational cycles. It was hard to narrow it down to just ten as there are some amazing accounts out there, but here are my favourites (in no particular order!)
Hey Sleepy Baby
This account is all about normalising baby sleep, providing alternatives to sleep training, educating about safe co-sleeping, and so much more. Rachael talks about normal toddler sleep, maximising your own sleep, debunking outdated myths and so much more. Definitely one to follow if your baby sleeps like an actual baby; the ‘is it normal’ polls in her stories really help you to realise that it is completely normal if your baby wakes in the night or will only sleep on you.
Big Little Feelings
This one is all about discipline; how to deal with toddlers, reframing how we view discipline, understanding the effect punishment based discipline has on children and how it doesn’t actually work in the long term, setting boundaries, and loads more. It’s amazing for understanding that your toddler is going through a lot, and that they’re not giving you a hard time, they’re having a hard time. Perfect for if you’re navigating those tantrums and trying to break generational cycles.
Babies and Brains
All about how 0-5 mental health, how their brains work, attachment, setting boundaries, and why punishment doesn’t work. This account is really good for understanding how our actions affect our children’s development, and breaks attachment theory down into easy to understand information. Another good one for breaking those generational cycles.
Little Nest Sleep
Focusing on being responsive to your baby and toddler. Hannah does a ‘fake news Friday’ segment in her stories where she calls out some of the absolute bull from the sleep training industry. Another one that normalises baby sleep and encourages people to respond to their baby’s needs at all times.
Transforming Toddlerhood
Another one about navigating toddler tantrums, their development, teaching them about consent – basically relearning what ‘discipline’ actually means and how to move away from that punishment based parenting that most of us experienced.
Our Mama Village
This account is about gentle, responsive parenting, again helping to break the generational cycles that have been proven to have a negative effect on children, and in turn, adults.
Our Mama Village
This account is about gentle, responsive parenting, again helping to break the generational cycles that have been proven to have a negative effect on children, and in turn, adults.
Mother Nourish Nature
Louise’s bio says ‘normalising the crap out of breastfeeding, sleep, and responsive parenting. She’s a lactation consultant and shares a lot about breastfeeding, responding to your baby, and again normal baby and toddler sleep.
The Breastfeeding Mentor
An account focusing on normalising breastfeeding for as long as you and your child want to. Danielle share breastfeeding tips, science backed info, images of her breastfeeding her two year old, and reels that basically stick two fingers up at anyone who feels the need to judge someone else’s breastfeeding journey.
Mother Baby Sleep
Another account focusing on baby sleep, but this one is helping to normalise co-sleeping, and sharing tips on how to co-sleep safely. Isadora also shares a lot of responsive parenting ideas around sleep, and of course, science backed info.
You can probably see that there’s a theme here with these accounts. They normalise parenting in the way that John and I want to parent, which seems to go against a lot of societal norms. I plan to breastfeed until Babybel weans herself; we have no interest in sleep training, but do bed share; and we won’t be using fear based or separation punishments to discipline Babybel. There is a lot of current science behind the information that these accounts share, but perhaps more importantly, it all seems to be information that aligns perfectly with my instincts.
