Mothers and babies share a special deep bond, to be truly valued, explains Sarah Mayhew Craddock

Remember those kids at school that would toe the line, did everything on time and exactly as instructed? I wasn’t one of those kids.

I was well-mannered, my parents had seen to that, but I pushed the boundaries, politely but firmly challenging authority where I felt it ought to be challenged.

I didn’t roll over and roll down the route of least resistance in order to neatly conform then.

Sure, I’ve felt a little vulnerable and lacking confidence since Sproglette arrived, but having found my footing once again, I’ve realised that there’s no reason why I should start bowing down to baby-related authority now.

With a chart in hand and a shiny name badge, some people are prone to developing an inflated sense of their own importance.

These people puff out their uniformed feathers and seek to squeeze us, and our babies, into boxes.

Perhaps these people were bullied in the playground and are now seeking their revenge by throwing their weight about via conformity and compartmentalisation, I don’t know.

But I do know that there is no one size fits all solution to anything in life.

So I’ve decided to stand strong and resist the pressure to shoehorn my family into someone else’s idea of perfection.

After a whole host of inept mix-ups, and hearing similar stories from other mums, I’ve decided to simply believe in my innate ability to mother.

Women’s Intuition and Mother’s Instinct may sound silly and old-fashioned but I now firmly believe they are not to be underestimated.

Mums really do know their babies best and, more often than not, know what’s best for their baby.

I’m not advocating Free Births (without any medical intervention or medical staff present) for everyone, or deleting the GP’s number from our mobiles.

Nor am I suggesting that all Oxford mums get together and have an enormous Burn The (red) Book Bonfire.

Just that we trust in our own instincts a little bit more, that we recall the strength that brought our babies into this world and we challenge attitudes and approaches that we don’t think are quite right, for whatever reason.

There’s a very warm and welcoming group of parents and carers who meet between 11am and 1pm each Wednesday during term-time at Kangaroo Play Group in Barracks Lane Community Gardens, off the Cowley Road, that aren’t prepared to roll over to convention.

Kangaroo Play Group’s motto is ‘follow your child, not the book’.

It’s an ethos that underpins the principles of attachment parenting, which the group was founded on.

My version of attachment parenting is about instinctive, patient, responsive, respectful parenting and closeness.

Attachmentparenting.co.uk provides a more comprehensive description.

Many parents practising attachment parenting adopt the “tools not rules” of bedsharing (there were three in the bed and the little one said…), babywearing (carry their little one in a sling) and breastfeeding, amongst other things.

Some parents follow all of these approaches, others just a few, but what they have in common is that they all share the same basic philosophy of attachment parenting.

They aim to raise confident and resilient children through providing emotional security, based on the understanding that a need filled in infancy is outgrown.

Kangaroo Play Group is anything but preachy; that said, there’s a wealth of parenting knowledge to tap into and learn from for those that seek it out.

Otherwise, Kangaroo Play Group is a place to picnic and play in a beautiful, organic environment.

There’s a log cabin with a wood burner to keep everyone cosy in inclement weather and there’s a Slingmeet on the first Wednesday of each month.

There’s also a monthly Oxford Nappy Free Baby meet (at which one can learn about the baby-led potty training technique that is called Elimination Communication).

And at £2 per family, it makes for a cost-effective couple of hours!

In short, I’ve found Kangaroo Play Group to be simply a lovely, relaxed place to hang out and chill out with like-minded parents and a host of happy, playful little people enjoying a slice of nature in an urban environment.

For more details about the group see kangarooplaygroup.wordpress.com