What is Holistic Parenting?

What pops into your mind when you hear "holistic parent"? Granola? Hippie? Treehugger? Radical? Or something else?

Defining holistic parenting is no easy task. At the Holistic Moms Network, no stereotypes apply. Sure, some of us like tie-dye and Birkenstocks. But most of us look just like you. We're not so radical or different. You can find us eating fast food, shopping at the mall, and drinking coffee with friends. You can also find us growing organic gardens, recycling, and homeschooling our children. Maybe. Maybe not. There is no one definition for holistic parenting but more a philosophy and outlook on how we would like to live and raise our children. As Dr. Linda Folden Palmer explains in her recent article Growing a Holistic Parent,

"We’re all reading and discussing, learning and experimenting, and we’re all making choices, eliminating other choices, and putting some on the back-burner. Most of us have observed that mainstream, industry-promoted practices may not always be optimal for our collective health and planet preservation, while some simply crave a more instinctual and harmonious experience."

At our core, we are about "actively pursuing information and making purposeful decisions about how we engage with our bodies, our families and our world," explains HMN Chapter Leader Meredith Barth in the latest issue of The Wise Mom, the member magazine of the Holistic Moms Network. Holistic parenting is a journey for all of us. We make take different paths and make different choices, but we are headed in the same direction and we benefit from the company and support of others along the way. We teach each other, empower each other, and join our voices to make a difference.

We invite you to share in this issue of The Wise Mom and to explore holistic parenting for yourself. Join us, no matter where you are on your holistic parenting journey, and discover the beauty of connecting through community as you travel your parenting path.