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.

My Grandma

“Don’t come to me for advice, it was 50 years ago that I had a baby.”

No one ever asks them at a job interview if they were breast fed!

The double layer bed sheets / waterproof pad for us too.

And... buy jelly shoes / crocs to put on your child when potty training. A quick rinse / dry and they are fine.

I haven’t read through the whole thread so I apologise if someone has already given this one- do not reduce normal house noise in order for your baby to sleep or you will be walking on eggshells for the next however many years because they can’t sleep in anything but silence. My sister did this and it caused her a nightmare. I carried on as normal and my kids sleep through anything.

@GetTaeFuck

My Grandma

“Don’t come to me for advice, it was 50 years ago that I had a baby.”

@GetTaeFuck

🤣

when I could get DS1 to sleep I asked both grandmas to help me with their tips & magic tricks of how to get a baby to sleep.
my mum said she couldn't remember and MIL said hers never slept.
🤣
peachy!

admittedly this was a brilliant thing to recite back to them when they wanted to give unsolicited advice; I'd just bring up that the one time I asked they were both useless so it's too little too late😄😄

*couldn't get

@LeSquigh

I haven’t read through the whole thread so I apologise if someone has already given this one- do not reduce normal house noise in order for your baby to sleep or you will be walking on eggshells for the next however many years because they can’t sleep in anything but silence. My sister did this and it caused her a nightmare. I carried on as normal and my kids sleep through anything.

again... great in theory, not so much in real life.

My first 2 slept through anything. My 3rd.. not so much. Needed silence to sleep 🤷

Go with the baby’s routine and stop making them fit yours.
If a child is unhappy at school, stop expecting the child to change and change the school.
It isn’t always as easy to like them as to love them.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner should take no longer than 10 minutes each. Remove and dispose of the meal. Do not feed them until the next one and they will be hungry.

Buy a trendy rucksack before you have a baby. You may think it's uncool now but you will need your arms!

@RosesAndHellebores

going with baby's routine only works with 1st kid though, if that.
sorry, but once you had a second child that advice is useless, the new one has to fit in to existing routines

Oh, keep ice-poles/pops in the freezer and use for minor bumps and tell them they can eat it when they stop crying - it's amazing how quickly they realise it's not sore anymore....

Pick your battles.

@CarlottaValdez

My mum always points out that lots of things will solve themselves in time. I still like this one. So although I felt at one point like I was probably going to eventually have to drive to DS’s university to breastfeed him to sleep in fact it did stop. See also, refusing to poo unless I gave him a chocolate button.

Other things like rudeness or unkindness are a problem forever so I focus my attention on those sorts of issues.

This exactly. My LO was still crawling into our bed, I was given the advice 'the last place he'll want to be at 16 is in your bed'. It's so true and the same for other things they'll outgrow stuff in their own time so chill!

Mother Nature doesn't give you anything you can't handle.

Everything changes every 3 months.

What is right for your child is what makes your choices right.

Plus the days are long but the years are short

@MaBroon21 They are doing well thanks so much for asking- dd starts school in September, Ds2 (6 now) is being assessed for ADHD and ds1 is just continuing in his usual way still shit sleepers and eaters, but we just roll with it. It's kind of you to think of us.

*EVERYTHING is a stage

• Fed is best (honestly, I promise)
• You’re not your child’s entertainment as they grow (and you don’t need to be - let them play alone, explore, get bored) *Get outside every day - no matter what (with the very very occasional day in)
• Never put a sick child to bed (camp together in the bathroom, old towels, lay them on change mat etc)
• You know best in terms of what your family / children needs - no one else (other than your children, sometimes they know best so keep your ears out for those times)

Don’t compare your children to other people’s children. Humans are individuals and develop in their own sweet time. It’s the little quirks and differences that make us. If we were all the same, the world would be a very boring place.

@HeadNorth

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.

I've always needed my sleep. My DC are 30, 29, 13 and 9 and I'm still sleep deprived. 😴

You’re not your child’s entertainment as they grow (and you don’t need to be - let them play alone, explore, get bored)

Yes!!! I think this is increasingly common. You make a rod for your own back. And you’re not doing your child any favours. Better to facilitate an activity/ start them off, and be around but not directly involved all the time.

Don't lose your identity as you. You are you and a Mum,

Love unconditionally, give them good boundaries, help them grow in every way including independence. Live your values.

And never ever expect to be thanked. The more they rely on you the more they will take you for granted.

Be kind. Always be kind. When your child messes up and, be there for them. Not a popular view on MN but my mum was one who made different meals and for me out of messes. It didn’t make me spoilt or an incompetent adult; I remember her kindness.

@topwings

Don't try to make a happy child happier.

I definitely needed to read this

I have a few

For mums it would be ‘You matter too’

In 20 years no one will ask your child if they were breast or bottle fed or a combination of both because it really doesn’t matter

Don’t get too caught up in centiles, a child being the 50th/75th/91st centile isn’t an accomplishment nor is it an indicator of health. Some children are on the 2nd or 9th and that’s ok too

Only listen to advice from people who have lived through what you are living through.

So if you have twins, ignore advice from parents of singletons. If your child refuses to sleep or eat, don't listen to people whose children weren't fussy or slept through. If they are SEN don't assume neurotypical parents have the answer. They are clueless. People who have lived through what you are living through are kinder, wiser and know their shit. They alone can help.