parenting pet peeves...

[bubbleymummy]

I know I'm going to get flamed for this but I just don't care - I have to vent somewhere after a weekend of smiling and nodding and keeping my mouth shut!

Here is a list of 'parenting' traits that I absolutely hate!

Giving babies sugar - dessert/pudding/biscuits/cake - they do not need it - they are not missing anything and they are the reason that your child is already overweight!

Shovelling food into tiny babies, scooping it up and shoving it back in when the baby's tongue pushes it out while discussing the baby's excema, constipation, tummy upsets etc

Giving toddlers fizzy drinks such as Coke and letting them run madly around before screaming at them and complaining about how badly behaved they are.

Giving children calpol because it's been a 'long day' or because they have a slight sniffle or even a hint of a temperature or just because 'they like the taste'!.

controlled crying / cry it out - I hate this at any stage but I DESPISE it in children under 6 months. I don't care if your child has been sleeping through since 5 weeks - it is bloody cruel!

and breathe....

Ok feel free to flame me or alternatively add your own pet peeves!

Disclaimer : I by no means consider myself to be a perfect parent and I could fill several threads with my own parenting flaws.

Agree with most except the first, giving them a biscuit once in a while won't hurt, and doesn't make you a bad mother. A snickers, maybe!

One of my pet peeves is

...getting your knickers in a twist about the occasional sugary snack instead of teaching children that food is fun, occasional treats are nice and that there's no reason why a child can't try anything an adult would eat too (well, as long as there's no alcohol in it, I guess)

Oh, and then of course making your own, allegedly sugar free snacks, which have plenty of dried fruit in it - which obviously is full of sugar. Is it hypocrisy or just moronic, I wonder?

People who still believe the myth that sugar intake leads to naughtiness.

People who believe that children running around is a bad thing, and then complain about lack of exercise and the obesity epidemic.

I have too many to list as I'm staying with the ILs and going quietly mad.....currently hiding in the bedroom with MN to get a bit of sanity!

sugar and 'treats' are very big here

as is smacking (nothing hard enough to hurt - but what is the point?)

excessive yelling, sometimes in play just to reeeally confuse the child and undermine the point of raising your voice in the first place

Oh there are loads but I won't go on....

Piercing babies or toddlers ears.

YABU on the sleep front, cc and other sleep training rechniques are the only way some families can keep their sanity and function without losing it entirely. Although admittedly shouldn't be done under 6 months, am that some people do it at 5 weeks.

Agree re coke/fizzy drinks.

Nothing wrong with calpol if they are poorly, soothes baby and restores sanity.

My pet peeves:

Dummies (cowers under robust shelter awaiting onslaught)

hyper vigilant/controlling/neurotic helicopter type parents these are a PITA to spend time with and are best avoided

parents who insist on playing with their dcs ALL THE TIME (see above)

Children with manic activity "schedules" every night of the week

Smuggery with regards to how little tv their dcs watch and facist restriction of same

Food fascism generally

Parents who are so f**king " child centred" they'll never say no to or reprimand their little darlings just use "distraction" instead.

I'm sure I'll be able to think of some more, obviously I am flawless and my children are angels

ear piercing.

routines being inflicted on v young babies.

bubbleyummy you will be pleased to hear we have sugar free children in this household.

Hard shoes with thick heels, like all the ones sold at John Lewis, Clarks, pick any highstreet shoe shop.

Reward Charts and Time outs. They are just modern smacking and sweeties. They won't help any child's behaviour in the long run.

Thinking calling children rude names is cute. Hello Trouble. Are you a naughty little boy/girl.

Wait til they get to [insert age here] and you will shout/smack/give them lollipops/ want rid of them/give up trying.

Widow, there is a huge difference between natural sugars that are found in fruit and the refined, processed crap that you get in sugary snacks. I don't have a problem with children having treats occasionally but I hate seeing babies sucking on biscuits, being fed bits of cake or having some sort of sweet sugary pudding spooned into them as their 'dessert' I really don't think that creates a great foundation for healthy eating!

Extreme explanation to the under three's.

Don't get me wrong, giving opportunity for understanding is a respectful and reasonable way to treat youngsters but baffling them with choices (i.e. more than two) and scientific evaluation of various options tends to leave little one's wide eyed, slack jawed and confused into tantrumdom.

A little goes a long way!

That and lack of parenting imagination. Sigh.

Parents (or non-parents for that matter) who think only their opinion is the right way of doing things.

Are you a dentist? I'm thinking not.

MillyR - no I'm not. Why does it matter?

I have guilty of most of the things mentioned so far, but it is only unreasonable when someone else does it!

I am

Because you seem to be venturing opinions on the relative merits of different sugars, and I don't think a dentist would agree with you.

Hurrah! A dentist. Claw, The dentist who came and did the talk at the baby clinic said juice and dried fruit were bad for teeth. Yes or no to that?

If you're referring to raisins getting stuck in teeth we have a simple remedy for that in our house - it's called a tooth brush. No problems with teeth so far - and a healthy attitude to food

oh - and our dentist said juice is fine as long as it is at mealtimes and not randomly during the day and not in a bottle...

Personally I find the 'sugar is poison' bores much harder to take. How many over-priced mini rice cakes and florets of raw broccolli can one small person eat?

I also cannot stand parents who look like they are going to cry every time little Johnny falls off the swings / gets shoved at softplay etc. You are the adult - grow up!

One of DC's teeth have suffered decay. Mainly from bananas. It was the dentist's first quesition. "Does she eat a lot of fruit, particularly banana's"? Yes, she does.

We rarely have sugary snacks but we eat loads of fruit.

I have a friend who is terrified of sugar too- she sweetens things with honey, and even buys fructose sugar to add to food. I really can't see the benefits- if something is sweet it probably has some sugar, whether it's cane sugar or fruit sugar is surely irrelevant. Fruit sugars still damage teeth and still contain calories. The dental nurse who saw my daughter even said that a little chocolate was healthier for teeth than raisins as it melts away, where dried fruit sticks in the teeth and causes more decay. Please can you explain the difference..?

My ds is underweight (but doesn't look it, he just looks younger) and its very tiresome being judged for giving him the calories he needs (lots as he has a metabolic disorder) and being judged for not doing BLW which would have been impossible due to his developmental delay (which again makes him look younger). Its almost as annoying as being told I 'made' dd allergic to stuff.

I wouldn't say poison - but I just don't think it NEEDS to be a part of a young person's regular diet - especially babies!