Photo: Oleksandr Nagaiets / Shutterstock
Ashley Wright has taken attachment parenting to a whole new level.
By Christine Schoenwald — Written on Jul 24, 2020
Moms will always do what's best for their children, but doing what's best for yourself (i.e., exercising and keeping your body strong) sometimes involves your kid as well.
And for Ashley Wright, that's exactly what she did when she included her baby in her pole dancing routine. "What if I told you I can pole dance and babywear at the same dang time?!" she wrote on her blog back in 2015.
What is babywearing? If you aren't familiar with what babywearing is, it's the practice of keeping your baby or toddler close and connected to you, as you engage in daily activities through the use of baby carriers.
There are many benefits to babywearing for your baby — they cry less, it soothes them, moms are able to nurse much easily, and the babies are exposed to and participate in the environmental stimuli the mother selects. It also promotes closeness between parent and child.
For Wright, she called herself a "badass breastfeeding babywearing, attachment parenting, pole dancing, yogi mama."
On her blog, she explained that since people really enjoyed previous videos — which included her daughter Shannon playing and watching "as I dance away to the music in our hearts and the freedom of our spirit" — Wright said she wanted to capture another beautiful experience together.
Before you get alarmed, please note that in order to protect Shannon's neck during the performance, she wrapped her daughter's head so it would remain stable. Shannon watched educational videos as her mother danced, but I'm sure the movement and the rhythm affected Shannon in very positive ways.
Wright added on her blog that she dances for love, which, if you ask us, is beautiful: "The love I have for self, the love for my daughter, the love we have for each other, and the love we have for you. This is who I am. And this is why I dance. And most certainly why I dance with my daughter."
This pole-dancing video demonstrates that love as Wright dances to "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King, with Shannon close against her back:
Unfortunately, not everybody reacted favorably to the video. When Wright put it up on Facebook, it was taken down and then put back up.
"I do not expect everyone to understand me nor my 'parenting style', for progression is few for most. However, I will continue to share for those who seek the light that dwells within us," she wrote on her Facebook page at the time.
Five years after her story and pole dancing went viral, it seems that Wright is still doing what she loves: dancing with her kids in tow! However, they are now much more grown and don't require being strapped to her back.
Her Instagram page is full of videos of Wright and her children — you guessed it — on the pole!
Other videos include Wright doing yoga with her children watching and even joining in, as well as some videos of her pole dancing alone.
Whether or not you agree with Wright doesn't matter; it's clear that she loves dancing and being a mom. And the fact that she's in incredible shape means her kids will grow up with enough "self-love and expression" (as she says in her Instagram bio) to follow in her footsteps.
Editor's Note: This article was originally posted in July 2015 and was updated with the latest information.
Christine Schoenwald is a writer and performer. She's had articles in The Los Angeles Times, Salon, and Woman's Day. Visit her website or and her Instagram.