AIBU to ask about bizarre parenting advice you've received?

[squeakyballs]

It's been a long week with a teething DS and I though this would be a lighthearted way to get to the end of today!

I'll start. I'm British but live in Australia. We took our 7mo DS to a daytime birthday party recently. It was sunny and although mostly in the shade, I was putting sun cream on him to be extra cautious. A friend's mother who was there (native Aussie) advised us to put him in the sun for 30 minutes without sun cream to 'toughen up' his skin to the climate. She had done it with her children. She was being deadly serious, definitely not joking .

What whacky advice have you been given?

@squeakyballs That should have read a TV, not THE TV and the reason was to put it on in the night for the baby if they wouldn’t sleep!

My health visitor told me not to drink fizzy drinks because it would make my breast milk fizzy and not to eat any spicy foods because my milk will come out spicy. Only four years ago! I ignored everything she said.

When I told my mother I was pregnant she told me I should get rid of some of my animals because there would be too much mess. I laughed and told her that wasn't going to happen. During the next conversation a few days later she asked if the midwife had told me to get rid of them - I told her I hadn't yet seen a midwife, but I would ask.

So I did, at my booking-in appointment. I did point out to the poor woman that if she agreed with my mother I would ignore her, as I had a committment to my pets and there was no way I was getting rid of any of them. She just laughed and said she'd never recommend such a thing!

I have a cat, 2 guineas, 3 rabbits, 6 fish (in a pond) and a corn-snake. At one point we had poultry, but they'd all died / been killed before I fell pregnant. I also live with DP who, whilst generally not having much to do with most of them (as they are mine, and I like looking after them) is more than willing to step in when necessary.

A few weeks later I got a call from my mother: my sibling was worried that I had a cat and could catch toxoplasmosis from her. My mother had never heard of it and was thus stressing once again about my pets. I replied that yes, I could catch toxo from her, salmonella from my snake and various things from my guineas, but since I always take precautions and had never caught anything in over 30 years of living with such animals I wasn't worried.

That I should start giving baby porridge at 6 weeks old....

And that the 6 month weaning guideline is "ridiculous"

A classic by DPs nan, who's own 50 year old daughter is dairy and wheat intolerant wonder why

Oh yes, I was also very seriously taken to one side at work and told to not use the alcohol hand gel, because it would be like drinking alcohol. Also very seriously advised by a colleague that I must not eat curry as it would cause miscarriage.

My MIL was convinced we should get rid of the cat before DS was born, "in case he gets a hair in his mouth!"

My Exmil told me never to bother with the health visitor and weigh ds1 in the scales at Tesco now granted my health visitor did turn out to be crap but I didn't traumatise Tesco staff with plonking ds1 in the scales next to my bananas.

My dm told me I shouldn't let my cat at the time (passed away since) walk near infant ds1 , she wants impressed when I asked her why? Did she think it would shank him?

The last time my dm asked a ridiculous question (are you going to leave 6 month old ds2 and 3.5 yr old ds1 alone in the house) I replied " Yep , I've given them a pot noodle to heat each and a pointy stick between them to fend off the wolves" ...she stopped saying stupid things to me....they are now 7 and 4

Let the baby sleep in a pram, in the bathroom, at the other end of the house so I don't hear him cry over night and he'd learn to sleep through

A neighbour told me not to feed my baby soya milk as it would make him gay

From a 'concerned' playgroup leader:

'If you don't cut his fringe he'll end up cross eyed'

...also along with things like he needs a proper 'boy' haircut and he'll get confused if I dress him in 'girls' clothes (leggings) .....blah blah blah

@Vebrithien I'm sure they used to advise woman not to wear heels during pregnancy as it affects your balance etc so that's probably why. I'm sure there was much controversy when kate Middleton was pregnant with george about whether she should be wearing them

Let the baby sleep in a pram, in the bathroom, at the other end of the house so I don't hear him cry over night and he'd learn to sleep through

My MIL was given this advice by a HV for her ds2 20 years ago she left him down in the living room with the doors shut said it worked a treat and advised me to do it!

My Exmil told me never to bother with the health visitor and weigh ds1 in the scales at Tesco My grandad was a grocer and we have photos of us as babies being weighed in his scales - the perfect size. Now it's all flat scales at Tesco, the baby would fall straight off

Its sometimes tricky when you are from another country and both countries give slightly different pregnancy/new baby advice!
I don't think it means either country is neccessarily wrong though as different ethnicities have different health risks, and different countries have different food/water standards.

Most bonkers advice I had was from FIL who said to stop letting 8m old DS nap in the day and then he'd sleep all night!

Baby was 3mo, wrapped in 2 layers then thick jacket with hood, hat and blanket in her pram...random dog walker looked into the pram then looked at me in horror to say I need to watch her neck doesn't get cold, she hates to see babies with cold necks... and that she should have a scarf on!

Mil told SIL to cellotape DNs ears back as a newborn so they don't stick out too much. She's not over that comment 15yrs later MILs own sons do have odd shaped ears lol

I had some great advice from my mother who adopted me later in her life. Although I was returning to work, she disagreed with me using disposable nappies. She told me I should be using terry nappies as they looked so lovely blowing on the washing line. I told her that was fine then, she could buy some and hang them out if it made her happy.

She also insisted on going out with me showing me how to push the pram as though it were driving lessons. She also told me to stop breastfeeding because she felt bottles were better ie that is what she did in the 1960s. She firmly believed cows milk had more magical properties than a mother's.

In Italy, where ds was born, by every bloody Italian woman I met, "put shoes on the bambino from birth".Proper hard leather ones, not knitted bootees in the winter...the reason? Without shoes a child's feet doesn't know the direction they have to grow.

Vodka on the gums courtesy of Bulgarian grandfather.
Whiskey on the gums courtesy of Irish grandmother.

My Greek Jewish neighbour (God bless her, she died at almost 100 and had survived a concentration camp) spat on my baby boy in his pram to ward off the evil eye and told him he was ugly so that he wouldn't get too big-headed. He's 18 next month and humble as anything, so it worked! No insta or selfies for him!

Roll the kids in grassy parks where dogs run especially in order to build up immunity. We've done that and they've eaten everything off every surface at some point. So... fingers crossed they're built like brick shithouses.

In Italy, where ds was born, by every bloody Italian woman I met, "put shoes on the bambino from birth".Proper hard leather ones, not knitted bootees in the winter...the reason? Without shoes a child's feet doesn't know the direction they have to grow.

Oh how funny! I lived in Italy for years and you know how all the floors are either marble or tile? I was told to always wear shoes/slippers, even just getting out of bed for a wee in the night because the cold floor on bare feet will give you a stomach bug.

8 months pregnant I was told by a lady in Bunnings that I was having a girl because I had a huge Fat bum.
(I had a fat arse before I was pregnant but thanks for pointing it out)

From my MIL: I had to eat what ever I was craving because if I didn’t and rubbed my tummy it would cause a birth mark. She genuinely believes strawberry birthmarks are cause by that

When DS1 was about 3 months, and started being cranky and not feeding as well as usual. MIL called from the golf club and said: 'I just spoke to Sue, who used to be a midwife, and she says it'll be that your milk's gone sour, so you need to start bottle feeding him now.'

Am afraid to say I ignored Sue's advice, carried on inflicting my sour milk on him, and he was soon back to normal but with two teeth.

@Christmadtree - she wasn't Italian, was she, as they recognise an illness known as 'la cervicale' which seems to be caused by having a cold neck (see here).

A neighbour told me not to feed my baby soya milk as it would make him gay

This is my favourite so far!

I know a man (now in his 70s) whose nanny / nursemaid, (he was from a vair well to do family), used to hold him over a gas stove to put him off to sleep. Aka carbon monoxide poisoning!

I know a man (now in his 70s) whose nanny / nursemaid, (he was from a vair well to do family), used to hold him over a gas stove to put him off to sleep. Aka carbon monoxide poisoning!

Whaaaaaaaat?!