Ah, every stranger is a baby expert....not.

[TinselGrrrlWith2Boys]

Anyone getting or had random people give them baby advice / criticism?

Just took DS2 to doctors, which is on the same street i live on. His mittens fall off, so put him in snowsuit and big hat and went down without them. A bloke who was passing demanded to know why his fingers weren't covered. I explained about the mittens, and he told me i should 'sew them on then' and walked off!!!

Charming!

I had an old lady do DS3's zip up a bit on his coat once. I was so I just stood there and let her!

yeah its really annoying isn't it.
bet you felt like sewing his mouth up didnt you ? lol

Yes, and my reply was 'i think i know how to look after my own baby thank you'

I know - drives me bananas.

Old lady recently admired dribbling DS and told me I should be rubbing whisky on his gums

That made a change from "He's hungry!" every time he cries in the pushchair - no he's bloody not, he's tired, now get your big nose out of his face and let him get to sleep

Ah but they mean well ...

I don't mind if people want to stop me and have chat, and chat to ds as well, and I don't mind if they say something like, 'oh arent his feet cold?' becasuse he wont wear his socks. I just explain he wont keep them on, but if the motive is just to criticise and belittle you, then that's not on.

When I was an au pair in Paris when I was 19 passers-by loved to comment on how I was looking after the little girl. don't know if it's because I was young, and probably looked younger! or because it's a french thing, or because I really should have been reported to childline (but in fact I deeply cared about my charges). One woman told me off for letting her sleep in her buggy, that I should NEVER allow that. Up until I had my ds I thought she must know better. When i had ds I discovered it was the ONLY way he'd sleep.
When the 5 year old cried non-stop on a 20 minute walk because she couldn't go to a friend's for tea, after many attempts to reassure her and calm her down I then gave up and just tried to get her home. I had strangers stopping us and asking her if she knew me and was I stealing her while I stood by smiling stupidly. As soon as I tried to talk they noticed my accent and got more suspicious and hostile. Suppose it's good to have concerned citizens... but hate that frustrating helplessness that sweeps over when i'm in shock at what someone's said.

yes and why are those people always obsessed with cold hands and feet? FGS if you very dared stick your finger down the back of my baby's neck and were prepared to live with the consequences of me decking you, you'd realise he isn't about to croak with hypothermia

Yeah, it's seriously annoying but part of me likes to think that it is all part of a 'mutual repsonsibility' culture, like in yon olden days when neighbours would discipline and feed children playing on the street...no?

i had some bloke on the bus giving me evils cos i couldn't stop ds doing his high pitched squealing. even commented to the driver that he nearly got off 6 times.

oh and once in debenhamsi couldn't get the pushchair round the aisles very well so i left him in one place by a rail of clothes and mooched around. one woman told me i should take more care of him cos someone might take off with him and i didn't deserve to have a baby i'd like to see someone take off with him. he'd have screamed the place down!

Some silly old bint accused me of suffocating my baby because I had the raincover on in a shop. Right, so clearly I'd put him in a hermetically sealed capsule and sucked out all the air or something.

Maybe she was thinking of advice such as this:
"This cover is for outdoor use only. The cover must be folded back if the child remains in the pushchair indoors, otherwise the child may overheat. Also fold back the cover in warm sunny weather."
Obviously not necessary when just popping into a shop but some babies have been seriously ill when taken indoors, wrapped up for the outdoors and the raincover has been left down to not disturb them if asleep.

I just think it would be nice if everyone looked out for everyone elses children. I sometimes see children without gloves and there hands look froozen - wouldn't dare to say anything though as the mother/father may think I was interfering. Yet if that same child ran on to the road I wouldn't hesitate to interfere, regardless of what ever the parent may say after.....

mine chooses to have freezing hands, takes hers off everytime I put them on!
On this note, annoying woman at soft play the other day tried to pick my dd up, just as I'd put her down in the toddler bit, as 'she was crying' this was the toddler who'd gotten up at 5am that day and who was having a paddy because I wouldn't let her go back to sleep after a half hour nap in car on way there (evil mother eh) I advised her to leave dd2 alone, and sure enough in under 5 mins she was off happily playing, once she realised screaming wasn't going to get her, her own way.

"I explained about the mittens, and he told me i should 'sew them on then' and walked off!!!"

Idiot!!! Like the doctor would have realy apprectiated seeing your child's mittens sewn to his hands.

I was playing with DS1 in the park last summer and was holding him upside down (as you do) and an old bloke walked up to me and told me to stop doing that, or my DS' liver would turn upside down - beat that!

In the post office queue the other day a woman had a go at me for giving DS2 a dummy! 'MY children never needed a dummy' she concluded. Well done you.

the liver one is amazing in fairness!!

an old bloke demanded to know why DS1 wasn't wearing shoes day...er because he's in his pushchair, he's a baby, and it's the middle of Summer, that's why!

it baffles me how people think it's ok to give comment on small things though, i mean unless someone's clearly mistreating their kid, why say anything?

DS1 had a huge scab on his forehead once where he'd fallen at his Grampa's. I had strangers stopping me when i passed asking what happened and what was wrong with him (they're quite forward and nosey round here)...i was getting paranoid people though i had done it and social services would be coming round! God i was glad when that scab came off!