Attachment Parenting-Friendly Communities? (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Edina: daycare, house, neighborhoods)

[tlarnla]

Are any neighborhoods/towns popular with people who are into attachment parenting, or other people who tend to put their children first?

I guess I'm mainly wondering where would be a good place to raise children for a family that likes to avoid too much junk food, TV, commercialization, etc... Do other families like that sprinkle all over the place, or are there certain neighborhoods that they are drawn to?

[mr roboto]

Why would one need a neighborhood specifically for this type of parenting? Not knocking the question just don't understand.

[rzzz]

Such people are probably scattered everywhere, but I'd check out the area surrounding Lake Harriet.

[Glenfield]

Originally Posted by rzzz

Such people are probably scattered everywhere, but I'd check out the area surrounding Lake Harriet.

This is a good suggestion.

[uptown_urbanist]

I think you'll find that's the norm in much of S/SW Minneapolis. Probably lots of other places, too. What else do you want out of a neighborhood?

[tlarnla]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

What else do you want out of a neighborhood?

I want to be in a neighborhood where people give their children plenty of love and attention, and place a high priority on trying to be good parents. They don't have to practice attachment parenting. They just have to really care about their children, read books/magazines about parenting, and use the parenting methods that they believe are best for their children.

But I would also prefer a house in an affordable community. Our income isn't that high. I know it should be easy to find good neighborhoods to raise kids for wealthier people, but where is a good place for people with lower incomes? I know you don't have to be rich to be a good parent. Where do the lower income people that want to raise their kids in a good neighborhood look for homes?

I'd also like to be in a community where people place a high value on education. I don't want to raise my daughter in a neighborhood where kids get made fun of if they like to study.
I would like to be in a good school district, but I am also considering the possibility of homeschooling. If I did that, the school district would not be as important, as long as the community is good.

I would also like to be in a neighborhood where people care about their health, and their children's health, and don't just feed them fast food and junk food all the time. I take nutrition seriously.

My family lives around the Monticello-Big Lake area, and my daughter would like to be near them. But DH and I prefer the cities, and the metro area is more convenient for us. DH is Japanese, so the metro area would make it easier to find Japanese newspapers, Japanese foods, Japanese schools for our daughter (there's one in Richfield and one in North St. Paul).

I would actually like to open an in-home child care business, with a language immersion focus, for parents that want their children to learn a second language. I do have daycare experience and am great with kids. So it would be a good idea to look for a house in a neighborhood where there would be a market for that.

[rzzz]

Look into Seward, Merriam Park, Highland Park, Prospect Park, and St. Anthony Park.

[uptown_urbanist]

Originally Posted by rzzz

Look into Seward, Merriam Park, Highland Park, Prospect Park, and St. Anthony Park.

Those are all wonderful neighborhoods, but in the follow-up post the OP said she's on a tight budget, and those areas are relatively expensive.

Back to the OP, I've never lived in a neighborhood where parents DON'T care about their children. Not that there aren't some bad apples out there.

I'd take a closer look at Richfield. The schools don't have the best reputation, but I'd also check them out for yourself before writing them off as "bad." The housing is affordable (much more so than adjacent Edina or SW Minneapolis), it's a fairly central location, and you'd be in close proximity to LOTS of families looking for quality in-home daycare and who would, I suspect, love the language immersion aspect. And yes, the families in Richfield (and all the other families I know anywhere else, for that matter) love their kids and try to be good parents.

[rzzz]

People love there kids everywhere but the highest density of uptight organic parents will be around Lake Harriet on the Linden Hills side, followed by scattered pockets of them mostly in the neighborhoods I listed. I have a lot of friends from Richfield. When I was younger they were my friends who sold me pot.

[tlarnla]

Originally Posted by rzzz

uptight organic parents

Yep, that's me! It doesn't sound very flattering , but it is descriptive.

I prefer terms like "research-based parenting", but I don't think most people have ever heard those terms. I thought of using "overprotective, education-obsessed parents", but I was afraid people would start lecturing me about how I should lighten up with the parenting, and the thread would go completely off-track. I think uptight and organic sounds good.