Gentle Christian Mothers
Encyclopedia
Gentle Christian Mothers is an online community
for Christian
mothers who practice attachment parenting as popularized by Dr. William Sears
. In 2006 Gentle Christian Mothers, or GCM, had hundreds of female members from around the world, mostly mothers." Salon.com
has called it a "support community for mothers."
owned by Jeri Carr. Website
s owned by Christian
mothers who advocated attachment parenting
were welcomed to join. After Yahoo!
's purchase of WebRing.com in 1999, Mrs. Carr declined to continue the Gentle Christian Mothers webring. Shortly thereafter, she formed a message board at ezboard
. The new message board focused on the same principles as the defunct webring. In mid-1999, Mrs. Carr invited former members of the webring to join the message board. At its inception, Gentle Christian Mothers hosted only a few dozen users.
faith-based approach to parenting and positive parenting. Shortly after its launch, Mrs. Carr introduced a forum to support mothers in the application of Grace-Based Discipline, so named by Crystal Lutton, and GOYB Parenting developed by Joanne Davidson. This forum has become both popular and controversial, as it advocates Positive Discipline (per Jane Nelsen
) and logical consequences while discouraging corporal punishment for children. This paradigm shift away from punitive Christian
thought about the "rod" verses in the Bible
attracts as many users as it has repelled, and has led to debate among the message board members. Gentle Christian Mother's official stance is anti-corporal punishment.
GCM users are a diversified group of mothers, and the message board's forums reflect that. Topics including (but not limited to) vegetarianism
, veganism
, homeschooling
, unschooling
, marriage
, exposing the faults of the parenting programs advocated by Gary Ezzo and Growing Families International, cooking
, entertainment
, and different ages & stages of childhood
are found at GCM.
In 2002 and 2003, several issues of a print newsletter, Gentle Mothering, were published. The newsletter was available to members who paid dues. The print newsletter was discontinued, and GCM stopped offering a paid membership option. Membership to the GCM message board has always been without charge.
resources, and testimonials from members, as well as the message board. Gentle Christian Mothers also reaches members through their page on Facebook
.
Online community
An online community is a virtual community that exists online and whose members enable its existence through taking part in membership ritual. An online community can take the form of an information system where anyone can post content, such as a Bulletin board system or one where only a restricted...
for Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
mothers who practice attachment parenting as popularized by Dr. William Sears
William Sears (physician)
William Penton Sears is an American pediatrician and the author or co-author of more than 30 parenting books, most notably several in the "Sears Parenting Library." He is a frequent guest on television talkshows, where he goes by the name Dr. Bill...
. In 2006 Gentle Christian Mothers, or GCM, had hundreds of female members from around the world, mostly mothers." Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
has called it a "support community for mothers."
Early history
Gentle Christian Mothers began as a webringWebring
A webring is a collection of websites linked together in a circular structure, and usually organized around a specific theme, often educational or social...
owned by Jeri Carr. Website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
s owned by Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
mothers who advocated attachment parenting
Attachment parenting
Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...
were welcomed to join. After Yahoo!
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
's purchase of WebRing.com in 1999, Mrs. Carr declined to continue the Gentle Christian Mothers webring. Shortly thereafter, she formed a message board at ezboard
Ezboard
ezboard, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, United States, is a provider of free and paid hosted Internet forums.-Description: was a provider of a free hosted message board for use by webmasters and message board administrators who have little to no experience running a web site...
. The new message board focused on the same principles as the defunct webring. In mid-1999, Mrs. Carr invited former members of the webring to join the message board. At its inception, Gentle Christian Mothers hosted only a few dozen users.
Gentle Christian Mothers Description and History
Gentle Christian Mothers presents a ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
faith-based approach to parenting and positive parenting. Shortly after its launch, Mrs. Carr introduced a forum to support mothers in the application of Grace-Based Discipline, so named by Crystal Lutton, and GOYB Parenting developed by Joanne Davidson. This forum has become both popular and controversial, as it advocates Positive Discipline (per Jane Nelsen
Jane Nelsen
Jane Nelsen, Ed.D., is a licensed marriage, family and child counselor in South Jordan, Utah and San Clemente, CA. She is the author or coauthor of many books on child discipline, and has also developed training workshops to complement her ideas...
) and logical consequences while discouraging corporal punishment for children. This paradigm shift away from punitive Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
thought about the "rod" verses in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
attracts as many users as it has repelled, and has led to debate among the message board members. Gentle Christian Mother's official stance is anti-corporal punishment.
GCM users are a diversified group of mothers, and the message board's forums reflect that. Topics including (but not limited to) vegetarianism
Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism encompasses the practice of following plant-based diets , with or without the inclusion of dairy products or eggs, and with the exclusion of meat...
, veganism
Veganism
Veganism is the practice of eliminating the use of animal products. Ethical vegans reject the commodity status of animals and the use of animal products for any purpose, while dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate them from their diet only...
, homeschooling
Homeschooling
Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school...
, unschooling
Unschooling
Unschooling is a range of educational philosophies and practices centered on allowing children to learn through their natural life experiences, including play, game play, household responsibilities, work experience, and social interaction, rather than through a more traditional school curriculum....
, marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, exposing the faults of the parenting programs advocated by Gary Ezzo and Growing Families International, cooking
Cooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
, entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
, and different ages & stages of childhood
Childhood
Childhood is the age span ranging from birth to adolescence. In developmental psychology, childhood is divided up into the developmental stages of toddlerhood , early childhood , middle childhood , and adolescence .- Age ranges of childhood :The term childhood is non-specific and can imply a...
are found at GCM.
In 2002 and 2003, several issues of a print newsletter, Gentle Mothering, were published. The newsletter was available to members who paid dues. The print newsletter was discontinued, and GCM stopped offering a paid membership option. Membership to the GCM message board has always been without charge.
Gentle Christian Mothers today
At present, Gentle Christian Mothers hosts thousands of diverse users from around the globe. Its website contains articles written by members, listings of attachment parentingAttachment parenting
Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...
resources, and testimonials from members, as well as the message board. Gentle Christian Mothers also reaches members through their page on Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
.
See also
- attachment parentingAttachment parentingAttachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...
- breastfeedingBreastfeedingBreastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
- babywearingBabywearingBabywearing is the practice of wearing or carrying a baby or child in a sling or other form of carrier. Babywearing is far from new and has been practised for centuries around the world...
- Positive DisciplinePositive DisciplinePositive Discipline is a discipline model used by schools that focuses on the positive points of behaviour. Some practitioners believe that educators should act with a philosophy that there are no bad children, just good and bad behaviors. You can teach and reinforce the good behaviors while...
- organic foodOrganic foodOrganic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
- home birthHome birthA home birth in developed countries is an attended or an unattended childbirth in a non-clinical setting, typically using natural childbirth methods, that takes place in a residence rather than in a hospital or a birth centre, and usually attended by a midwife or lay attendant with expertise in...
- homemaking