Natural Fatherhood Defined, part 1

This natural father believes:

• Homebirth is best. It's safe, it's cheap, it's been happening for thousands of years without doctors and hospitals. Trust it.
• Unassisted homebirth is the ultimate DIY project. I highly recommend it.
• Circumcision is cruel and stupid. Go watch one if you disagree.
• Vaccinations are dangerous. Giving small babies multiple vaccines is so new that we don't know the consequences. Maybe autism. Maybe SIDS.
  
• Co-sleeping is where it's at.
• Wearing your child on your body, in a sling or in a soft pack (Ergo-style), is as natural as birth.
• Homeschooling works. Unschooling works even better. It's not hard.
• Your children are miniature people. They learn by watching you, and just because they don't know the language doesn't mean that they are dumb.
  
• Natural foods are the basis for health in children and adults. Eating quality nutritious food will save you grief and money in the long run. It's your health plan.
• Grow your own food organically in whatever space you have. It makes sense.
• It's important to have "papa time" that is just for you. You have to work on yourself and listen to what your needs and wants are. Just because you are a father does not mean that your personal development is done. Quite the contrary.
  
• Everyday brings a new lesson, a new opportunity. Make the most of it.

Natural fatherhood is not mothering for men. It's the role of a man fully engaged in raising his kids in a good way without the macho b.s., a man that is awake and aware and growing. A man that has a strong spiritual path will naturally pass on that tendency to his children through spiritual fathering. And when I look around me at the world, I see a big need for men that are strong fathers, spiritual fathers.

There is a lot of focus on mothers and mothering, and it would be great if we started hearing more about fathering. I say fathering instead of fatherhood: fathering is active, and fatherhood a state of being, seems to me. I'm going to use natural fathering to describe what I do. Natural fatherhood is the state I aspire to.