Or you can...

Welcome to a page of links that I would have loved to have found so much earlier than I did in my parenting journey, all about the other options available to parents and children, that they *don't* tell you about! 


This list is by no means exhaustive (and do let me know if there are other links that have a place here, I'd be happy to add them!) but hopefully can be a starting place for parents and parents-to-be who are wondering if there's another way to the one they're being told that they should/must follow. I'm also not saying that any or all of these are the right way to go for any individual family. Each family knows first hand the details of their own situation, and what range of large and small choices combine to make that situation positive for them.


I share these links in the spirit of, "If it's not an informed choice, it's not a choice at all" :)


Pregnancy

• Instead of being induced
• Instead of interference or worrying it's not legal 
• Instead of doing everything they tell you is 'routine'

Birth

• Instead of cutting the cord straight away   
• Instead of cutting the cord at all
• Instead of being scared
• A different sort of support
• Instead of listening to what they tell you
• Instead of being an NHS target
• Instead of having a c-section just because you've had one before

Babies

• Instead of nappies
• Instead of prams/being far from your baby
• Instead of trying to breastfeed without support
• Instead of calpol for teething
• Instead of baby in a separate bed/room
• Instead of pureed food

Health Visitors
I don't have a link for this one, but suffice to say the UK health visitor service is an optional service, you can make an active decision whether or not to use it.

Parenting

• Instead of being your child's adversary: Joyfully Rejoycing, Radical Unschoolers Network, and Sandra Dodd  

Nurseries
No link here either, just a note to say that they're not compulsory, even once funding is available for your child.


Education

• Instead of school...  HE-UK and THEN UK 
• Instead of education...   The writings of John Holt and John Taylor Gatto 

And also a mention of the fact that education in the UK isn't compulsory until the term after the child's 5th birthday. After that time, whether your child goes to state school, private school, or is home educated, you (not the school or the local authority) are legally responsible for ensuring your child receives an education.

I hope this list helps someone make a choice they didn't realise was open to them :)