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Original poster

Stupid things people have said to you

185 replies

JennH · 03/02/2004 13:42

I have never heard as much rubbish as i have heard since i had my baby.

Things i get a lot-
What is HE called? (He is a girl and always wears pink)
Aww is she a big sister (said when she was obviously new born)

Am i the only one who has a child that people constantly think is the opposite sex?

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sobernow · 03/02/2004 13:46

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ks · 03/02/2004 13:56

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zebra · 03/02/2004 13:56

I don't mind people thinking DD is a boy, I think it's amusing, and they're so embarrassed when they realise their mistake!

The one that upset me the other day, I was having a moan about cost of children's shoes, and said that DS destroys shoes. Someone replies "I have 3 boys and they have never destroyed any shoes".

What was I supposed to say to that? How about, "Well, obviously your boys don't get to climb trees, push along skateboards, play football during school hours, fall down, run through mud or be normal kids. Incidentally, do you LET them do anything fun??"

But I kept my mouth shut.

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linzoid · 03/02/2004 13:57

when my ds was a toddler people constantly referred to him as a she, very annoying. He did have longish blonde curls that i couldn't bear to cut off but he was so obviously dressed boyishly. People do say a lot of strange things. I cringe every time someone asks my ds how do you like school? He started in september but since then EVERYONE has asked him the same question and by the look on his face i can tell he's sick of it!

donnie · 03/02/2004 14:03

he lonzoid, tell him to say "I hate it and am in therapy' and see what happens!

marialuisa · 03/02/2004 14:11

On the boy/girl thing I think it can be impossible to tell sometimes. You see children with flowing hair and "plain" clothes and I find it hard to guess whether it's a boy whose mummy loves his hair or a girl whose mummy is determined not to conform to expected standards of girly dressing.

oh and why does everyone, right down to complete strangers on the train start asking "when are you having the next one?" as soon as a child gets to 6 months?

handlemecarefully · 03/02/2004 14:19

I must be difficult to offend! (despite my name) - I don't mind if people get dd's gender wrong (she is 18 months old), or make comments about the size of my bump (like "not long now then"etc, etc...I think its just nice and sociable of strangers to strike up conversations and prefer that to stony faced silence.....(the norm where I live in the 'frosty' south of England)

handlemecarefully · 03/02/2004 14:19

that was supposed to be a bracket not a 'smiley'

oliveoil · 03/02/2004 14:24

I used to get annoyed, and still do, when dd's excema (can never spell that) would flare up on her face and look horrid and angryly red and they would say 'have you tried anything on it?'. No, I just leave her to scab, you ??(&^&((*&&!!$$$.

The 'oh, look who's tired' really gets me as well, esp from the inlaws and when she has just woke up from her 2 hour nap!

twiglett · 03/02/2004 14:24

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twiglett · 03/02/2004 14:25

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Slinky · 03/02/2004 14:41

I actually made this mistake at the nursery I work at last week !

Was working in another room and came back to my usual room (2-3s) for "rest time". Some of the children were already asleep on the mats.

I sat down in between 2 boys who were asleep at different angles (one of which has longish hair). As I sat down, I said to my colleague - "aaah, have we got a new little girl starting today?".

My friend looked at me strangely and said "no that's XXXXXXXX" (a boy!)

suedonim · 03/02/2004 15:07

Ds1 was mistaken for a girl for years and years. The last time it happened, he was 12yo!! It didn't bother me, people are just making conversation and now he is adult, he's rather good looking - and that's not just my opinion, either. People often say silly things about lots of subjects, (I'm sure I do!) but life's too short to get het up about it, I reckon.

kiwisbird · 03/02/2004 15:49

I have one of each, it happened with both despite obvious colour coding
I'm with HMC any conversation is good down here, the chilly sth...

kiwisbird · 03/02/2004 15:50

oh and isn't mummy feeding you properly when dd is obviously teething and happy to chew on anything, usually her fingers....

Tortington · 03/02/2004 17:27

" you had them close together didnt you?" people still say this to me occasionally and are incredulous when they say it. they are actually refering to my twins so i can happliy reply " erm yes...13 mins apart actually"

Podmog · 03/02/2004 17:35

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dinosaur · 03/02/2004 17:46

When DS2 was a baby he was in plaster casts from toes to hips most of the time, because he was born with clubfeet. Perhaps understandably, we got lots of questions (some of them verging on the hostile) from people wondering how we had let him break both his legs.

Epigirl · 03/02/2004 18:22

With Kiwisbird here, the 'Isn't she feeding you properly?' one does my head in. One of these days I think I'll just say no and see what happens.

Things said to me (usually by old ladies in the Co-op, don't know why that is)
We used to wrap them up properly in our day (not just in a coat, blanket and coseytoes then...).
We waited until they were old enough to go out in our day (ds was 2 months old at the time).
I think he wants his tea.

fisil · 03/02/2004 18:58

Grrrr to "oh, we all know what he's doing ..."

No, you don't. He is just being momentarily still and quiet. He is not pooing.

This one annoyed me over Xmas, coming from my aunt. She is a nurse, and should have realised that he could not possibly be pooing for the tenth time this hour!!!

Lethal · 04/02/2004 06:13

My MIL said I was a 'cruel mother' for not heating up ds' bottle when he was a baby. Nevermind that he was used to drinking milk at room temperature and DS obviously had no problems with it whatsoever. 'CRUEL' would have been not feeding him at all.

When he was about two yrs old & quite active, she also said that we should put him in a cage - his constant motion was probably bugging her, even though he wasn't being naughty at all. At least he wasn't throwing a massive tantrum, then she might've had something to complain about.

fio2 · 04/02/2004 07:05

'are they your children?' 'surely they are not both yours?'

this has happened more than once and

'are they twins?' when there is 22 months difference

2under2 · 04/02/2004 09:35

'Are you her nanny?' when I'm out with my dd who has DS just because people cannot believe that someone in their 20s could have a child with DS... Also get plenty of cr*p about how 'pure' and 'loving' dd (who incidentally, is very much going through the terrible 2s at the moment) supposedly is ...
Also - people asking me whether ds is my first - when I tell them that he's actually my 3rd quite a few get all funny and you can see they're thinking 'Breeder!!!'.

fio2 · 04/02/2004 09:37

2under2 I wonder whether thats why they ask me then when i TAKE DD OUT WHO HAS SPECIAL NEEDS BECAUSE I AM IN MY 20S oop caps!

the comments you get when you have an sn child are quite unveleivable at times

WideWebWitch · 04/02/2004 09:44

While I was pregant I asked the woman in the deli if the goats cheese was pasteurised. Her answer was "oh for goodness sake, women do smack while they're pregnant and their babies are fine..."!!!! So addled was my pregnant brain I didn't even register the outrageousness of the commment til I was out the door