Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be horrified at a tiny baby's dummy being dipped in Mr Whippy ice cream????

75 replies

Twelvelegs · 09/10/2008 19:38

At a shopping centre today (during the working day) and I walked past a family of five, two girls both with dummies (one of which looked close to school age). The middle child under parents advice dipped her tiny baby brother's dummy (not old enough to sit up or head up even) in her soft ice cream and gave it to him.
I was so horrified I nearly said something... but didn't as they looked like the sort of family who may have hit me hard in the face. The baby was in a car seat which is one of my pet hates, too.

OP posts:
lilymolly · 09/10/2008 19:42

chavs

Maybe just a tad judgemental too- but so would I prob have been

RubySlippers · 09/10/2008 19:43

what is wrong with a baby in a carseat?

Original poster
Twelvelegs · 09/10/2008 19:46

It's not good for their backs to spend a long time in a carseat, I hate to see them being pushed around in one.

OP posts:
mrsgboring · 09/10/2008 19:47

But you're not supposed to have Mr Whippy when pregnant because of food poisoning risk, so presumably it's bad for small babies too (not to mention dummy in something sugary in general)

The carseat thing is a pet hate of mine too, but I am learning to get over myself on that one a bit - have had sleeping baby in a carseat outside of a car myself, after all.

MrsBates · 09/10/2008 19:47

I wasn't allowed to eat Mr Whippy when I was little because my mum's friend had nearly choked on a button in one. Also it wasn't 'real' ice cream. What the hell is Mr Whippy made with anyway?

You're not unreasonable to think it's a bad thing to do but you do sound very surprised though. I have seen babies (1ish) with coke poured into their bottle and I imagine Mr Jamie Oliver's researchers wouldn't be that astonished by what you saw.

The poor little sod probably needs a bit of cheering up living in the family you describe.

alicet · 09/10/2008 19:48

I think YABVU about the car seat.

Not meant to spend a long time in them for sure but a couple of hours is fine. My sons both slept well in the car - was I meant to wake them when we got where we were going and put them in a pushchair rather than take the car seat instead? I don't think so !

Saggarmakersbottomknocker · 09/10/2008 19:51

I can't raise the energy to get my knickers in a twist over any of these TBH.

southeastastra · 09/10/2008 19:52

mmmm mr whippy

BouncingTurtleSkulls · 09/10/2008 19:53

I agree YABU about the car seat, DS has often slept and been pushed around in his carseat as it was the only way to get him to sleep.

But YANBU about the icecream!

GreenMonkies · 09/10/2008 20:02

No, YANBU.

But sadly there are thousands of idiots out there who don't have basic parenting skills. This is all too common, no doubt if you'd walked by 20 minutes later you would've seen him sucking on a bottle propped on his chest with a rolled up towel/blanket.

As for the car seat, I hate this too. At work I see so many tiny babies strapped in carseats (or baby buckets as I call them) which are on the floor being rocked by a parents foot. I have to stop myself from pointing out that the clue is in the title, it's a carseat, for use in the car. And we wonder why so many babies are getting flat heads....

We had a Britax First Class for DD1, which is a fixed seat, so she was lifted out and carried or in the pram when we got where we were going. DD2 had an Urban Detour seat, but we still took her out of it instead of carrying her aorund in it.

I see so many things that wind me up, but rarely say anything. However today I was in Mothercare in my lunch hour and I saw a lady pushing a trolley with a child of about 18 months standing in the main part, and he was holding the egde and jumping up and down. I walked up and told her that a while ago I had helped xray a child who had a broken clavicle that had fallen out of a shopping trolley because he hadn't been sitting safely in the seat.

Bettyboobird · 09/10/2008 20:02

I think there are worse things to happen in life!

WinkyWinkola · 09/10/2008 20:04

I think the extended periods in car seats (2 hours plus) is frowned upon for prem babies as it can squash their chests. It's not great to keep a baby in car seat for ages of course but they'll be ok.

Wish that flat car seats were the norm. I don't understand why they're not. Jane have made one, I believe.

Meanwhile, yeah, the dummy in Mr. Whippy isn't great either but there's a lot worse that happens to kids. Get horrified about that rather than this.

CoteDAzur · 09/10/2008 20:06

I wouldn't, but it's not the worst thing that can happen to a little baby.

YANBU to be "horrified".

ceebee74 · 09/10/2008 20:07

No yanbu (about the dummy/ice-cream anyway).

I was at a zoo a couple of weeks ago and saw some parents do exactly the same thing (although it was 'proper' ice-cream rather than Mr Whippy ) - baby must have been about 3 months old maybe? Both me and DH just looked at each other and did a expression - but I think it is quite common.

Lauriefairycake · 09/10/2008 20:07

greenmonkies - why aren't you supposed to allow them to suck from a bottle in their hand on a towel on their chest?

MurderousMarla · 09/10/2008 20:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SuperPsychoFabioSaver · 09/10/2008 20:08

ahhh.....have you not learnt the MN rule???

you had only a 10sec snapshot of their lives, how dare you be so judgemental!!!!

priceyp · 09/10/2008 20:22

get a grip it's a little taste of ice cream not crack cocaine fgs. As for the car seat and rocking it with a foot, my goodness, how dare people try to get their babies off to sleep.

DraculaNeedsArteries · 09/10/2008 20:40

oooo carseats are one of my pet hates.

Babies should not be in carseats for prolonged periods of time unnessarily. I was advised by a peadiatrician that longer than 20mins should be avoided unless on a long journey in a car doing the primary job that they are designed for. Even then regular breaks of at least 10mins for every hour travelling should be taken.

Keeping a baby in a car seat unnessarily is a risk factor for SIDS. There chest and windpipe can become crushed by the weight of the babies own head and body. It doesn't just affect premature babies either....although some babies are at higher risk than others for unknown reasons.

I have seen my baby go blue in a car seat and I was petrified. It is a real risk. It is a life threatening risk.

Car seats are not intended to convert a forward facing pushchair to a rear facing one. Sleeping babies should be reomved from their seat when you get home.

DraculaNeedsArteries · 09/10/2008 20:40
SilkCutMama · 09/10/2008 20:43

I'm afraid this is the way to have a non-fussy baby with food. I think you are being a tad judgemental

I let my ds taste food from a very early age and now he will eat anything

sorry

avenadrinkofblood · 09/10/2008 20:50

What do you make of this then. A 4 month old, upright in a buggy that didn't lie back, earings, gold bracelet and a headband.

TotalChaos · 09/10/2008 20:50

Depends if baby is over 6 months ish or not re:ice cream.

sorry to hear about your scary experience with car seats Dracula.

itgetseasier · 09/10/2008 20:53

Please don't be so judgemnetal unless you are perfect.Tut.

AccidentalMum · 09/10/2008 20:54

'Horrified' is a bit extreme IMO. 6 month old parked up on the bus next to DD2...ate a whole packet of Skips. Mum kept asking if DD2 wanted one (which she quite clearly did) and I kept having to decline .