Mayim Bialik divorce: is parenting style to blame?

Last week, actress and former child star Mayim Bialik announced that she and her husband had decided to seek a divorce. The couple was married for nine years and has two children together.

Bialik recently made news by publishing a book about her preferred parenting style. Known as ‘attachment parenting,’ Bialik’s methods of raising her children reportedly include prolonged breastfeeding, co-sleeping and baby-wearing. Now, many critics of the attachment parenting style are questioning whether those methods may have caused conflict between Bialik and her husband and ultimately caused their divorce.

When Bialik published her book, she gave an interview in which she described her parenting style and her reasons for choosing it. Allowing babies and children to sleep in their parents’ bed and wearing them in a sling instead of pushing them in strollers contributes to the biological and sociological structure of the family, she said, and honors the baby as a member of that family. “Attachment parenting is not permissive parenting,” she said, “but the general notion is children have feelings that should be valued.”

Yet some critics argue that Bialik’s nontraditional parenting style may have caused a rift between she and her husband, and ultimately, their divorce. However, in a recent post on her parenting blog, Bialik denied that her parenting style has anything to do with her divorce. “The hands-on style of parenting we practice played no role in the changes that led to this decision,” she wrote. “Relationships are complicated no matter what style of parenting you choose.”

Source: The Huffington Post, “Mayim Bialik Parenting Style Didn’t Cause Divorce,” Nov. 27, 2012

The attorneys at our Las Vegas law firm help couples who decide to divorce, regardless of the reason for that decision. To learn more about the legal divorce process, please visit our family law website.