What's the worst piece of advice you have ever been given re parenting?

[grumblingirl]

Mine include:

1. Strapping ds2 into his cot by tying a sheet tightly round the mattress and base so he can't wriggle about at night. My reply 'A bit like a straight jacket for babies eh?'

1. Putting my newborn in a (used) furry soft dog house as a playpen/sleeping basket (offer of 'giving' us the dog house included)

1. Stick a dummy onto LO's face with sticky tape so it doesn't fall out at night - This one was a joke though because I was moaning about lack of sleep (again).

Please tell me I'm not the only one who gets this crackers kind of advice?

Dd 14months was given a steak knife and fork by MIL in preparation for her dinner
'she is old enough now surely?' she said looking at us in horror.

Gran-in-law told me leaving the new baby home alone for upto 15 mins was perfectly acceptable when one had to nip to the shops.
'Put her in the Bathroon dear, that's what I used to do. Safest room in the house.'

DH thinks it's a miracle he survived his childhood. Neither babysit for us !

My Mum this week telling me that bathing chicken pox spots in salty water really soothes!!!!!!!!! Not sure DS1 agreed ...his screaming could be heard down the street

Oh no Junkcollector, its supposed to be Bicarb or something not salt. Who knows what it was supposed to be?

"You should put the pram in the sunshine (this was when it was 36 deg in the shade a couple of months after DD was born) - it's good to see a baby nice and tan."

Someone else mentioned the moses basket on car seat one - my Mum truly didn't understand why we'd gone to "all the trouble of buying a car seat when there's no need" .

"Put the pram at the bottom of the garden and let her cry it out."

And loads of the same comments as previous here re BF - only every four hours, top up with a bottle, you're spoiling her etc etc.

(all from my Mum)

Yes, baking soda i think. I know that now. Shouldn't really have listened to her but had had no sleep for 2 days and was weak!

Pmsl Kevlarhead!!

My aunt told me I was a bad mother because ds1 was only dressed in a nappy and vest......due to the fecking 35 degree heat in the hottest summer this country has ever had (2003)

Mad old bitch...........

Another gem from her:

"You need to pull yourself together" - because I was in bed recovering after a miscarriage and had whooping cough

From my midwife, when I was breastfeeding: feed on demand, and breastfed babies don't get wind.

Another one, from a friend - I should never call DD beautiful or gorgeous or cute to her face as otherwise she may grow up actually thinking she is! (she is actually very beautiful, and if I can't say it to her, who the heck can?!)

Oh yes, MIL told me when DD was about 2 months old that I *had to get her onto a bottle, otherwise she'd never take one. Guess what, she is now 14 mo and has never taken a bottle!

Mad aunt again, "stroke DD's eyes. It'll make her go to sleep as she won't be able to open them"!

From my grandad when 5 mth old ds was crying, do you want some honey to put on his dummy?

Don't let the wind blow in the baby's face because he will forget to breathe.

also... from grandparents... he will eat if you put a good sprinkling of salt on his food!

have sat and thought about this one - for a change - i cant remember ever being given any, by anybody, about anything

the two things I learned from all the advice I got (and I got most of what I've seen here) are a) you're on your own and b) if it feels right for you and your kid, it probably is! I gave up after a bit when I realised half o this conflicts iwth everything else. Sleep thing was biggest for us - "leave her to cry" form about half hte nation (started virtually at birth, though hospital didn't like the racket so settled for glaring at me when I picked her up), "she saying she needs you now and she'll outgrow it later if you go to her" from the other half.

the BEST piece of advice I was given, was ignore everyone elses advice!

On subject of biting, biting them back when accompanied by stern telling off and explanation does actually work. I did it once and my three year old hasn't bitten her sister since.

A friend of mine was advised by her gp to sprinkle/splash cold water on her sons face to stop a tantrum. She says it worked really well!

Good friend of mine was visiting and recommended I give dd (3) 'a good smack' for not wanting to go up for her bath And you think you know people....

jemart I also gave my DS a bite and a telling off when he had a habit of biting me, he's never done it since .

I also use the 'stroking eyelid' thing, it works! (I remember my dad doing it to me, so I do it to my DS's!)

Advised....

that when my two year old lies, i should punish him, because lying is wrong!

to BF less...resulted in grizzly baby, and myself not listening to 'advice'.

My dear old Nan always said to me whenever I went to stop the babies going anywhere close to climbing the stairs; "No let them go, they all have to fall down the stairs once"

Eh??!

From MW - don't need to wind bf babies, dd was so much happier when I started winding her!
From DH's GP You need to show her some disapline and stop going to her in the night, DD was about 5mo and DH had gone to the GP with back problems WTF?
My Gran - All babies cry, well yes but my dd is telling me she is hungry, I know you want a cuddle but if you hand her back and let me feed her she will stop crying - there now isn't that better

From practically every pregnancy/baby book on the planet, including all the NHS guidance: young bf babies want feeding around every 3 hours, after the first couple weeks.

Yes, except for the hourly feeds from 5am to 9am, the two-hourly ones from around 9 to 3pm, and the constant feeding from 6pm to midnight.

All the other mums of up-to-3-monthers I know are experiencing the same, so what's with this 3-hour fiction???

One reason I like breastfeeding is it's the first thing ever that my mum admits she knows nothing about!

"First babies are always late" from my parents trying to persuade me to go on a weekend away for dads 60th when I was 37 weeks.

Luckily I refused to go (to much eyerolling) and my waters broke on the saturday lunchtime.

LOL at this thread!

An elderly Iranian woman told me to make sure I BF from both breast every time, because one is food and one is drink!!!

And one day I was in the queue at Sainsburys with my 3mo, who was crying because he wanted a feed, when the woman behind the checkout told me he was ready for solids if he was crying like that.

Ideas for how to get DS to sleep through...
-cover the top of his cot with a sheet
-place a cushion under his feet
-wake him up at 12 and give him an extra meal (post weaning)

I was told to just ignore my son's pointing and expressive communication, cos that way he would " finally learn to talk". Makes you wonder why we have SALTs at all!!! There's so unnecessary.