Pettiest parenting pet peeves?

[Tucancrossing]

What's the pettiest thing that annoys you about other parents? Something that you know is so pathetic to care about but it really grinds your gears?

Mine is probably when people say they're doing 'a bit of traditional weaning and a bit of baby led weaning' - you can't half do BLW... traditional weaning is purees AND finger foods, BLW is your child ALWAYS feeding themselves regular food.

So petty, I wish I could let go of it, but I internally eye roll every time.

@aSofaNearYou

*Being told I’m ‘making a rod for my own back’. My god I could SCREAM every time this phrase is directed at me…

I WANT to hold my baby when he cries.

I WANT to breastfeed him through the night instead of giving formula so he ‘sleeps for longer’

I WANT to interact with him throughout the day instead of ‘putting him down for a bit’*

Conversely (and I recognise this is not you as you seem to have come up against people on the other side rather than being the one giving unsolicited advice), but people who make preachy posts about how they could never leave their baby to cry and how unnatural it is, how we're their whole world and we've forgotten what real parenting is etc etc, are extremely annoying. I've never come across the other side of it - people telling you you SHOULD be putting them down more (rather than just saying it's ok to put them down), so perhaps the answer is just not to make preachy posts whatever side of the fence you are on!

Totally agree with this.

I never comment on how other people parent but if they hear that my toddler still wakes in the night then I hear all about how it's my fault and I should've taught him better... 😵

I don't think op meant genuine allergies. I have a cmpa ds and people don't really get how serious it is but it is definitely not helped by the recent wave of parents whose kids have fashionable allergies. One kid in ds class is apparently also cmpa but eats chocolate and ice cream regularly with no I'll effect. It's stuff like this that can detract from the seriousness of genuine allergies. It drives me nuts!

I just wonder whether all this one-up-womanship and competitiveness would stop if childbearing and child rearing were given more status and worth in society.

I dont really care how other people parent but the labelling of stuff makes me itch. 'Cloth bumming' 'contact napping' 'baby led weaning' - it just puts people into camps. I find it so weird that they need to attribute labels to everything

"food before one is just for fun" - hate this phrase, it's just straight up untrue. I was told by paediatrics that I must start weaning at 6 months despite DD being prem and developmentally only 4.5 months as by six months babies have depleted the stores of various nutrients they acquired in the womb but do not get from breast milk. Iron and vitamin D are important ones - breastmilk does not supply enough iron for a baby over 6 months

@MsMarch

I have to admit that mine is parents who are massively anti all tech. Sorry. It's 2021 and this is the world our children live in. If they don't get taught how to use and interact with technology from a young age, they're not only going to get left behind but also are fare more likely to fall for the dangers. We teach children while they're still in the pram to be careful when crossing the road etc, we need the same level of basic safety instruction on tech from day 1.

And iPads in classrooms is brilliant. It doesn't mean they can't and won't use pens and paper but it allows for much more freedom and equality - the child who doesn't write as well/as fast is more likely to be able to keep up, work can be distributed and stored more easily etc. I think iPads in the classroom is a wonderful development.

Just catching up on this thread and I'm sure it's moved on. I'm an anti all tech person actually but I accept they are part of school but that means they don't need to be part of our home life which is a relief.

I have to disagree though, I think current programming allows the skills to be developed intuitivelyso very little instruction is required. For example a child picks up an iPad and is confident very quickly, as is someone from an older generation
Was it Bill Gates who went to a Steiner school?