What Does It Mean to Be a Crunchy Mom?

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Find out if you're a silky, crunchy, or scrunchy mom with this guide

Co-authored by Jacob Christenson, PhD, LMFT and Cheyenne Main

Last Updated: March 21, 2024 Fact Checked

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Crunchy Mom Meaning

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Crunchy Mom Characteristics

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Term Origins

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Silky & Scrunchy Moms

There are tons of different parenting styles out there, and each family can choose what works best for them. A crunchy mom is a parent who tends to be very environmentally and health conscious and avoids modern technology and medicine. On the other end of the spectrum, silky moms embrace modern conveniences. Keep reading to learn all about the different parenting styles everyone’s talking about, and find where you fit in.

What is a “Crunchy Mom”?

A crunchy mom is a parent who avoids modern medicine, technology, or processed food, preferring natural alternatives instead. Crunchy moms might make their own baby food, use homeopathic medicine, prefer homeschooling over public education, use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones, or limit technology in their homes.

Section 1 of 4:

Crunchy Mom Meaning

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A crunchy mom refers to someone who practices a natural parenting style. Crunchy moms tend to be environmentally, societally, and health-conscious. They tend to go against the status quo and reject modern conveniences.^{[1]
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Research source} They might limit their children’s dependency on technology, modern medicine, and processed food and prefer more natural alternatives.
- “I’m spending my Saturday night sewing cloth diapers for my baby and realizing that I’ll forever be known as a crunchy mom.”
- “My mom spends all her time homeschooling my brother and making him all-natural snacks. She’s definitely crunchy.”
- “I went hiking barefoot with my baby in a sling—my sister was right when she said I had crunchy mom vibes.”
- “I’m so glad I found a group of crunchy moms who embrace natural living, just like me.”

Section 2 of 4:

Crunchy Mom Characteristics

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Crunchy moms may serve plant-based foods and use holistic medicine. Typically, crunchy moms already follow a more natural lifestyle and incorporate it into their parenting.^{[2]
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Research source} They might home-prepare their baby food, prefer using supplements or essential oils and changing their diet over taking medicine, or reject routine circumcision practices.^{[3]
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Research source} Crunchy moms might also:
- Prefer holistic medicine and avoid modern medicine
- Limit technology in their home
- Oppose early vaccinations or vaccinations in general
- Do a natural, at-home birth
- Eat a diet of organic foods and avoid processed foods
- Avoid plastics, disposable diapers, and products high in pollutants
- Live a zero-waste lifestyle
- Emphasize recycling and environmentalism
- Prefer homeschooling over public schooling
- Practice extended breastfeeding instead of bottle or formula feeding
- Believe in attachment parenting methods like co-sleeping (sleeping near or next to their baby) and baby-wearing (carrying their baby in a sling or carrier)^{[4]
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Section 3 of 4:

Where does “Crunchy Mom” come from?

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The term emerged in the 2010s and was inspired by “granola” parents. The term “crunchy mom” came about in the early 2010s on parenting and motherhood websites to describe mothers who followed a natural parenting style, similar to the hippie “granola” parents of the 1960s and 1970s. In fact, “crunchy” is believed to come from the crunchiness of “granola.”^{[5]
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- Crunchy moms are also sometimes called “neo-hippies.”^{[6]
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- While “crunchy mom” and the alternative terms “silky mom” and “scrunchy mom” have been used in parenting circles since the early 2010s, they became more popular in the 2020s due to social media platforms like TikTok.
- Although labels like “crunchy mom” are sometimes used negatively, many parents have embraced them to celebrate their own unique parenting styles.

Section 4 of 4:

What are Silky Moms and Scrunchy Moms?

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Silky moms embrace modern technology, science, and convenience. They rely on modern conveniences to combat modern burnout. The opposite of crunchy moms, silky moms might use disposable diapers, vaccinate their children, and let their kids eat fast food.^{[7]
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Research source} They may also allow their children to use screens for an extended amount of time.^{[8]
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- Silky moms might have medicated or surgical births in hospitals, use baby formula or bottles, or feel unconcerned about artificial additives in food.^{[9]
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- Crunchy moms aren’t better than silky moms, or vice versa. Each parent, family, and circumstance is different, and whatever parenting style you choose is completely valid.
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Scrunchy moms balance between crunchy and silky parenting styles. Scrunchy moms tend to fall somewhere in between the crunchy-silky mom spectrum. For example, a scrunchy mom might buy both wooden rather than plastic toys or use cloth diapers but opt to put their baby in a crib at night rather than co-sleeping (which crunchy moms tend to favor).^{[10]
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- Scrunchy moms might feel like they don’t fully identify with either crunchy or silky moms or avoid limiting themselves to one category or the other.^{[11]
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