Best parenting tip you ever got?

[giantwaterbottle]

Obviously I'm not being unreasonable to ask 🤷‍♀️

Mine was from some friends who had older kids.
Always double the sheets/plastic sheet in baby/toddler bed.

It's saved us in the middle of the night on countless occasions.

Your definition of what constitutes a clean shirt will change.

At the time, I was horrified "my standards won't change"

My best parenting advice is get DC into a routine of stripping their own beds early. Mine started at about 5yo when they were still keen to help. As a result I have never handled a teenage boys' bedding. One of the few things I am certain I got right

@livingthegoodlife

When punishing your kids, don't punish yourself.

Eg hard long day, you punish by taking away TV time, means you no longer get 5 minutes peace and a cup of tea etc.

I so agree with this.

From an old lady in a supermarket cafe when my DS was about 4 months and I was clearly looking a bit frazzled with life ‘all they need is love’. It stuck with me as I was so in the thick of stressing about routines and sleep and feeding etc.

Practical tip: keep a toothbrush upstairs AND downstairs (for them and you!) The one downstairs gets used many a time when we’re about to leave the house and realise we’ve forgotten to do teeth! Saves trekking back upstairs.

Also - if you or the child are in a grump/bad mood, it is nearly always better to get out the house (together) A pram walk, ten minutes on the swings, a bit of chalking in the garden or even a drive around the block can really lift a mood and break up a tedious day!

Put a radio on low in the room where baby is sleeping so they get used to sleeping through a bit of noise and chatter.

I can't think of a snappy way to put this, but if you make different choices to someone else re parenting, they may take it as a criticism, but you don't have to respond. Be confident in your choices.

Also, if you have a child with SEN, find other SEN parents because they will get it.

Also you are having a human being, not a baby.

Absolutely another vote for sleeping through noise. It’s amazing the number of people that creep around hushing everyone cos the baby’s just gone down!
Walk away a lot sooner! I’m still not brilliant at this & tend to engage way too much with DD12. Because she has no siblings, she tends to try & pick fights with me & DH.
My DSIL always tried to explain why something was wrong rather than just tell my nephews & niece off.

Pick your battles

Hang in there. They WILL leave home eventually

Definitely a fan of "pick your battles"

And try to see playground or teenage social battles as part of your child's learning process. Obviously step in if needs be but allow them to figure out their own responses to demands/stress. Home can be safe, but you really can't hover over them at school all the time.

@GoodHairDay86

Pick your battles

This one

From a midwife, "Remember that a mother's place is in the wrong. Don't worry about it."
From my mother about every horrible phase, "This too will pass."

@GoodHairDay86

Pick your battles

I came to say this! Such good advice x

Buy a big playpen (assuming you have the space, I guess). Put lots of toys/safe objects in it. Get baby used to being in it from early on and retreat to the kitchen or somewhere you can see said playpen from for a 20 minute "coffee break" from parenting in the afternoon. Feel no guilt. Baby gets used to playing alone and you get time out.

I suffered from insomnia when my DC was very little. On really bad mornings, I'd lie in the playpen and doze while my crawling DC played happily next to me.

Forgot this one from my granny "You can't spoil a good child with love." Always remembered it if anyone said I was doing too much for them.

@Jellybabiesforbreakfast

Buy a big playpen (assuming you have the space, I guess). Put lots of toys/safe objects in it. Get baby used to being in it from early on and retreat to the kitchen or somewhere you can see said playpen from for a 20 minute "coffee break" from parenting in the afternoon. Feel no guilt. Baby gets used to playing alone and you get time out.

I suffered from insomnia when my DC was very little. On really bad mornings, I'd lie in the playpen and doze while my crawling DC played happily next to me.

I had a friend who was a keen sewer, her kids wouldn't go in the playpen so she put her sewing machine in the playpen and worked in there while they played within sight but couldn't touch.

A good nanny is easier to find than a good career.

@dementedma

Hang in there. They WILL leave home eventually

This made me laugh! I have also heard ‘one day they will be able to buy you a pub lunch and a glass of wine’ 😂😂

From someone on here - peel all the backing off the sheets of stickers

My gran always said to give your kids a say and if your saying no explain why never use because I say so. This came from her mother who parented in the 30's and reckoned it made kids know how to use their voice in a healthy way. It's been gold for me

@GalaxyGirl24

Loads of muslins, and when weaning use huge muslins on the high chair and floor - stops so much wiping up as you can shake crumbs outside and then whack them in the wash!

Also, first year is just about surviving.

Pick your battles, you'll look back on these times and wonder why you panicked over an extra teaspoon of food!

I thought it was the first 18 years, then they get really difficult.

This will pass. Might take a few minutes, might take a few years. But whatever it is, it will pass. It won’t always be this way.

Don’t compare. Most teenagers no longer use nappies. Most children can tie their shoelaces in secondary school just fine. Very few 10 year olds are still co sleeping - and if they are, so what? Ability to use a spoon doesn’t generally feature on work CVs. Special needs aside, they’ll get there in their own time.

And don’t give parenting advice to parents whose children are several years older than yours! Your toddler happily dusting and emptying the bin will not be immune to teen lethargy. Your friend’s stroppy sixteen year old was a very cute lisping preschooler. And your friend isn’t wanting advice she’s wanting to vent!

Don’t get worked up over sleepless night. I spent my twenties up all night partying hard then showing up to work, why when you have kids do you suddenly need 8 hours straight. Babies like to party at night so better to relax and go with it. And never look at the clock and calculate hours of sleep - they are irrelevant. Made life so much easier all round.

Not everything is open for debate.

If you raise a child without taking them to A&E you have probably been over protective. If you raise more than one child without taking any to A&E you are probably an appalling bad parent. Let.kids be kids. From my GP when I gave birth 35 years ago.