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.

coke or similar in baby bottles

toddlers with dummies/bottles

kids in pushchairs with massive bags of chips/sweets/crisps etc (please note i'm not in the anti-snack brigade, my dd has these things just a lot less)

babies with pierced ears

parents buying toy/sweets to end the massive tantrum their kid had because the parent wouldn't buy said toy/sweets (or when they buy something else instead)

proper shoes (especially designer ones) on non-walkers

parents who ignore several minutes of 'i need a wee!' and then get angry at the inevitable accident

little girls dressed like teenage girls

parents who won't let their kids do anything at the park because heaven forbid they might get a bit dirty or get a scraped knee

that was fun!!!

3m

Staying - most of the people I see wearing them really shouldn't be. Well, not those with children, anyway. Teenagers are another matter entirely, though I say good for them if they want to look like they have peg-feet!

Have never seen the appeal in skinny jeans myself. I prefer a bit of an outward flare from the knees to show off my curvy hips better!

oops just read back a bit, how could i forget

smoking in front of little kids/while pregnant

3m

Am [shocked] at coke in bottles! Hope you haven't seen that one too many times MathsMadMummy! If they can't hold a cup they don't need more than milk and the odd drink of water!

Also, I do get annoyed at the people who frown on you if you're in a cafe and you're giving your DC a treat (such as a cake). Why is there the immediate assumption that this is all the child eats? I do at least try and reserve my judgemental hat for cases where it's fairly obvious that this is the way the parent always deals with the child.

Oh, and mums who take their children to playgroups and then ignore them while they proceed to bully and intimidate the other children as well as trashing toys for the next hour and a half, because they're busy gossiping with their friends and texting people on their mobiles. Just how do they expect these children to turn out?

So, what we really hate is people who parent in a different way from us.

But given that my way is the best way, I'm right to judge everyone else .

dummies all the flipping time/talking/running around/playing with dummy in (disclaimer dd2 has a dummy for nap and bedtime only at 17m)

people who run around at playgroups sppon feeding their children- one lady held up a giant queue on the slide by spoon feeding her dd who was sitting at the top

people who have excuses for their dcs bad behaviour- oh they're tired/poorly/whatever.

empty threats- if you say 'do that one more time then we'll leave' then stay you look like a prat. either don't threaten it or carry it through.

people who let their children bring toys from home to playgroups then when child leaves toy and another child tries to play with it get all precious about it.

god I'm so judgy- must be cos I'm perfect

ps also used to be against phil and teds until I got one after almost breaking my back pushing my one behind the other..

TottWriter - are you kidding? I see it all the time and squash that hasn't been diluted nearly enough.

3m

where to start!

i also hate that 'we don't tolerate fussy eaters' crap. because actually what does that mean? if your kids are chilled out and open minded about food and will give everything a go then thats admirable but otherwise its kind of like the controlled crying thing - the kids just give up. how eating will go with dd i have no idea as shes not even weaning yet but the most i can hope for is that when shes bigger that she can try different food and feel safe that if she don't like it then its no big deal and i wont force her.

im not keen on phill and teds prams and the like - though they must be better than the old style double buggies i spose.

anyone who thinks 'distraction is better than reprimand' is a good idea should come to my in laws with me and watch them with my nephew il. its painful and acutally that child could be a lot worse for the hash they make of parenting him but i'm sorry, sometimes you have to say no and just no - and not feel you have to compensate/make excuses or worry that the child wont love you. i have told him off many a time for torturing the dog - guess what he still likes me.

i am conforted by the other anti ear piercing posts. forcing a metal bar through any other body part than the ear lobes would be grounds for a child protection investigation.

thesecondcoming - there is a collumn in Mother and Baby mag written by a new (albeit journo) mum. pretty much the co sleeping you describe. it went on until the baby was 8 months then they got a sleep trainer, who failed and it resulted in controlled crying in the end and the baby getting so hysterical she throws up everywhere and the mum is v emotional about it drama drama. i'd have been embarrassed to write that!

Hi all- I'm new.

I was a dummy hater and adamant would not use one- DS was 3 months prem though and after I had thrown away about 6 tiny dummies the nurses were giving him I had a chat with consultant who recommended it for a tiny one, so I caved.

I'm also weaning my DS early- on medical advice- I can't go out much with him but when I can I look forward to the looks I will get for giving apple and baby rice to a 9lb baby!

You would think this had made me less judgmental.... but I HATE babies with piercings, babies in a pushchair with a packet of Wotsits, babies wearing leather jackets and jeans so they can't move their arms and legs, and so much else. I hate toddlers throwing tantrums because they wan't something too but I'm sure my DS will do it, if only to show me up.

my bf got rid of her dd's dummy by asking her if she'd put it out for santa on xmas eve - for the 'baby reindeers' worked with her!

otherwise i got nothing!

An old school friend weaned her ds on pureed McDonalds - apparently he didn't like the packets of instant baby meals He was also whizzed of to hospital to be tested for diabetes, but it turned out they were giving him strong ribena, fanta and 7up (at age 6 months) and he liked the taste of it, and went through gallons of the stuff.

That was pretty annoying. Surprisingly, 10 years on, he is turning out to be fairly healthy.

I'm not a dummy hater, yet neither of my children have ever taken one, despite me >ahem< encouraging them to do so.

I could so easily judge people with 2 year olds being wheeled around with dummies in. But instead, I feel like asking them for tips. How do you get your child to sit so quietly and let you shop, and how do you get them to suck the dummy? They know something I dont!

What I am saying is, if I could just get oh I dont know 3 minutes of peace and quiet on demand occasionally, well, I would!

returns to white padded cell

Parents who let their kids get away with appalling behaviour but the second one of my DC's hits/snatches/tantrums wades in and tells them off and gleefully tells me that my DC has upset their little Darling.

I have two my first one is parents complaining their very young child is obese and there is nothing they can do about it because as soon as they come home from Primary School they start munching on crisps. It makes me want to scream 'Stop buying the bloody crisps then, you stupid woman. He 8 ffs, whats he gonna do, nip down Tesco and buy them himself?'. Though thankfully things like that normally only happen to families on Jeremy Kyle and the ilk, so it is okay to judge.

My other, and main peeve, is parents who judge other parents. That time you spend worrying yourself about what she is doing to them poor kids, would be better spent playing with your children, non?

thesecondcoming - oh dear!

My pet parenting peeve is people who ultimately do what suits them, but in an effort to bolster their decision making, through confirmation bias and other cognitive tricks, basically 'sees' any other style as yielding deeply unpleasant results.

Ergo, anyone who did controlled crying 'sees' the children of a co-sleeper as wandering around like 'zombies'.

Anyone who ff seeing bf babies as 'unsettled'
And so on.

I say concentrate on your own kids, be confident in your own decision (we all second guess them) and get on with it.

But then what do I know. I'm a zombie co-sleeper shuffling through life with no intimacy from my husband, harming my poor daughter with my cavalier attitudes and bonkers philisophies.

'philosophies' See! Slumps on desk....

People who hit children.

And then say: "it didn't do me any harm." Er, it did, actually; you've become the kind of person who strikes another human because they're smaller than you.

everybody is different im not going to say things i hate because it would upset someone, and they might not agree with something i do.
The only thing i will say is i hate people who judge having an only or say there spoilt etc

everybody is different im not going to say things i hate because it would upset someone, and they might not agree with something i do.
The only thing i will say is i hate people who judge having an only or say there spoilt etc