Weirdest things you've seen other parents do as they bring up or care for their DC?

[FortunesFave]

Here are mine.

I was in a public toilet in the cubicle and heard a woman come in with a small boy.

They went into a cubicle together and I heard her ask him repeatedly "Do you want to dirt!?"

She meant poo!

"Do you want to dirt???

Omg.

Second is SIL. When her DS was little...around 2 or so, she'd put chips for him INTO A BOWL OF COLD WATER so they'd cool faster.

Dump the cooked chips into a bowl of water. Leave them there for a bit and then drop the soggy pile onto a plate for the poor child.

WHY? What are yours?

[Waterfallgirl]

@Notimeforaname

I know someone obsessed with calorie counting.

She weighs and portions out all of her children's food to the last calorie.
Everything must be homemade.

If one of them goes to the grandparents house for a sleepover there will be no pizza or snacks. Kids are sent with their portioned and weighed out quinoa/polenta/veg slop. Kids choose nothing.


Meal times are horrifically stressful in that house.

The children are now weird with food.
If we eat with them without their parents present..its like they cant understand why there isn't a fight happening and will look for one.

If I hold a punnet of strawberries or a pack of blueberries in front of them and tell them to help themselves..they first look at you like you're mad to offer and not just hand the 4 actual blueberries to them....then they will get a crazy look on their faces like they are doing somthing wrong and grab fist fills of the fruit and ram it onto their mouths whilst looking around

So sad....poor kids.

[Jimmyshoes]

I was sitting down in the town centre with DS a few weeks back eating ice cream on a nice warm day. I noticed a family come by and sit on the bench near us. They were all nicely dressed but it wasn't as if they were dressed for a particular occasion like a day time wedding, they just looked nicely dressed for a day out but the dad was wearing a T-shirt and chinos. Anyway, the little girl (5-6) had a lovely little frilly dress on and the parents had ice creams. They were telling the little girl that she has to wear her bib or she can't get her ice cream. The girl started throwing tantrums and refusing to wear a bib but the parents were insistent that she wore a bib to keep her dress clean.

The girl refused and parents started licking her her ice cream and started saying stuff like "if you don't wear the bib, I will eat your ice cream". The girl started crying more and more and the more she refused to wear the bib, the more the parents were licking her ice cream. They gave her the bib and again she started screaming and threw the bib on the floor and started to stomp on it which then the dad bit a massive chunk from her ice cream and made the girl cry even more.

I started to get uncomfortable and thinking are they doing the right thing or are they traumatising her but then I took a look at DS 2.5 years old, with ice cream all over his face and new top with his sticky fingers smiling and he said to me "nice ice cream, yummy ice cream happy" and then I cleaned him with baby wipes, changed his top and left.

[RevolvingPivot]

@LabStan

I'm in hospital with DS, been in 2 weeks now. I'm amazed by the amount of DP's feeding their children....I'm talking kids 10 years old. They may be ill or injured but they can still feed themselves!

If they are ill or injured they probably can't.

[RevolvingPivot]

@kateyjane

The squash itself doesn’t bother me; it’s the amount and the age of the child.

Please don’t read if it could be triggering.

Does anyone remember an awful case of the death of a child a few years ago. It was so incredibly sad. The mother had learning difficulties and had been giving the child squash (in similar quantities to the TikTok example) A child that age literally cannot cope with huge amounts of fluids. It stripped his body of all the natural salts and caused him to have huge seizures sadly leading to his death. I know this is an extreme example, but sometimes people do need support and advice- just not from a judgemental perspective.

I've never heard of this. How much is considered too much?

[SixTwirlingTutus]

@Clocktopus

I wish DC would eat beans. They're too orange, too saucy, and have a flavour so are considered "disgusting". He'll never know the simple pleasure of egg, chips, and beans for tea. Poor neglected little sausage (which he also won't eat).

That made me laugh. (I have a DS like that too).

[Clawdy]

I once was looking after my neighbour's little girl for the morning, and she went to the toilet, and came out saying "I've flushed it, because I've done dirt." So maybe quite a few mums use the term! Agree it is odd.

[liveforsummer]

@Goldbar

I don't give my DC low salt beans because I usually share the tin with them and I'm not eating low salt beans for anyone (not even my beloved DC) .

Judge away!

During a covid isolation my dad picked up some shopping for me including no salt no sugar beans. I was shook - does he not know me at all after all these years?! Thankfully bean loving dd2 didn't notice the difference- beans are beans to her. I had to eat my jacket potato and cheese dry!

[Goldbar]

I don't give my DC low salt beans because I usually share the tin with them and I'm not eating low salt beans for anyone (not even my beloved DC) .

Judge away!

[Hopeisallineed]

🤣 please do.

[Glassofshloer]

@Hopeisallineed

That’s very ‘judgy ’ of you to buy low salt baked beans, what about all of us that are shovelling those heavily salted BB down our toddler throats with gay abandon. Don’t make me feel inadequate. 🤣

Gay abandon! I may have to pinch that! I’ve also borrowed ‘merrily pissing’ from the potty thread 😊

[Clocktopus]

I wish DC would eat beans. They're too orange, too saucy, and have a flavour so are considered "disgusting". He'll never know the simple pleasure of egg, chips, and beans for tea. Poor neglected little sausage (which he also won't eat).

[Hopeisallineed]

That’s very ‘judgy ’ of you to buy low salt baked beans, what about all of us that are shovelling those heavily salted BB down our toddler throats with gay abandon. Don’t make me feel inadequate. 🤣

[Glassofshloer]

Just to redeem myself I buy the ‘low sugar/salt’ baked beans. Although no doubt this will warrant responses of ‘You give baked beans to a toddler? Not what I would do OP, but if you want her to grow another limb and glow bright green, knock yourself out’

[Glassofshloer]

@Clocktopus

But squash is treated like it’s some kind of toxic waste

That's because attitudes to children's food on MN are essentially this -

Poster on MN: "Is this an okay lunch for my DC? Ham sandwich on a brown bun, cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices, a small pot of natural yoghurt with fresh strawberries"

Respondent on MN: "Hmmm, it's not ideal is it? I mean is that processed ham? And what size is the bun because that a lot of carbs, isn't it? And I'd probably ditch the yoghurt and fruit, those strawberries are basically pure sugar..."

All DC on MN are either teeny tiny or strapping great sporty beanpoles, nothing in-between, and they're either raised on super healthy fresh food diets or processed high sugar shite rather than just a normal diet like us mere mortals eat.

You’re so right about the strapping thing 😂 ALL sons on here are ‘strapping’!

[Hopeisallineed]

It’s personal choice. I have made a decision about what I’m happy to feed my kids, I’m sure you have made yours. In which case I assume somewhere along the line you too are being ‘judgemental’ and if we extrapolate that, then we all are to a certain degree. shrugs so, sue me!

[Sirzy]

Just because you say you aren’t being judgemental doesn’t mean that the rest of what you have written doesn’t say otherwise.

[Hopeisallineed]

@Sirzy I think you should look up the definition of the word ‘judgemental’ like I said, I’m not at all bothered what other people do, that’s their choice, not mine. Hardly judgemental, are you just looking for an argument?

[BobsYerUnclee]

@ElizaDarcysDeeds

Some of these posts are verging on racist. Early toilet training and using different words for going to the toilet are cultural differences.

Give over.

I'm certain you haven't the foggiest what racism actually is.

[Hopeisallineed]

That’s fine. Like I said I couldn’t give a toss what you all give your children, we all make decisions as to what to give our kids and what not to and yes I realise there are lines that each one of us draws, well that’s mine. Can’t believe how het up you all are about some squash. If you choose to give it to your kids, knock yourself out.

[Clocktopus]

But squash is treated like it’s some kind of toxic waste

That's because attitudes to children's food on MN are essentially this -

Poster on MN: "Is this an okay lunch for my DC? Ham sandwich on a brown bun, cherry tomatoes and cucumber slices, a small pot of natural yoghurt with fresh strawberries"

Respondent on MN: "Hmmm, it's not ideal is it? I mean is that processed ham? And what size is the bun because that a lot of carbs, isn't it? And I'd probably ditch the yoghurt and fruit, those strawberries are basically pure sugar..."

All DC on MN are either teeny tiny or strapping great sporty beanpoles, nothing in-between, and they're either raised on super healthy fresh food diets or processed high sugar shite rather than just a normal diet like us mere mortals eat.

[Glassofshloer]

[quote Hopeisallineed]@Glassofshloer Does it matter if we don’t know the type of squash in question? However I would say it’s all shite and wouldn’t have given it to my toddler. The stuff with hardly any fruit juice in is full of crap and artificial flavours and aspartame and the stuff with more fruit juice in is really bad for their teeth so would avoid. I think it’s sets kids up for needing sweet stuff when they really don’t however, I couldn’t really care less what anyone else does. Just my preference.[/quote]


You do realise your toddler breathes in pollution, drinks chemicals in water, comes into contact with plastics, has chemicals added to nearly all food/clothes/toys..? I could go on.

But squash is treated like it’s some kind of toxic waste

[VestaTilley]

WTAF?! Both those examples in the OP are insane! And dirt?? Vom.

[Sirzy]

[quote Hopeisallineed]@Glassofshloer Does it matter if we don’t know the type of squash in question? However I would say it’s all shite and wouldn’t have given it to my toddler. The stuff with hardly any fruit juice in is full of crap and artificial flavours and aspartame and the stuff with more fruit juice in is really bad for their teeth so would avoid. I think it’s sets kids up for needing sweet stuff when they really don’t however, I couldn’t really care less what anyone else does. Just my preference.[/quote]
When you have been chasing said toddler around a hospital ward trying to get fluids into them to avoid them being on a drip then strangely you stop having such judgemental views.

I think sometimes we as parents make life so much tougher than it needs to be by getting worked up at the idea of a glass of juice.

[mafted]

However I would say it’s all shite and wouldn’t have given it to my toddler.
I thought that until I was in hospital with a very poorly dehydrated baby, at that point the type of fluid was insignificant.

[Clocktopus]

And it's fine to have your preference just don't go casting judgement on other people's preferences.