A new study has revealed the 40 pieces of advice that are most annoying for new parents!
The 40 most annoying pieces of advice given to new parents in the first six months
- “Sleep when the baby sleeps”
- “I always used to do THIS and my kids turned out fine”
- “Stop holding baby so much you’ll spoil him/her”
- “You must have a second baby as otherwise you are selfish/ your other child will suffer/ be spoilt, etc.”
- “You’re not holding the baby correctly”
- “Babies should be left to cry it out”
- “You’re making a rod for your own back”
- “Don’t entertain baby with a screen / TV / iPad / smartphone”
- “Don’t let them in your bed with you or they’ll never leave”
- "Oh it’s just colic"
- “You’re bound to feel emotional – it’s the hormones”
- “It goes by so fast, cherish every second”
- “The baby’s crying because he/she is over stimulated / over tired”
- “You’ve got to start them with baby rice/porridge when weaning”
- “Dummies will delay speech / ruin teeth”
- “They’re just trying to manipulate you”
- “You should wean baby onto solids after ‘X amount of time’”
- “Trust me you’ll miss this age!”
- “Before you know it, they’ll be in secondary school”
- “They can’t be hungry again”
- “Babies just sleep all the time in the first few weeks”
- “The child should be in their own room by ‘X months’”
- “Breastfeeding will shrink your tummy down faster”
- “Everything’s just a phase”
- “Just wait!”
- “Always put them down drowsy but awake”
- “Don’t rush your babies, they will go at their own pace (when it comes to crawling, walking, talking, etc.)”
- “What baby things to buy”
- “What you eat and drink comes out in your milk”
- “Don’t forget your pelvic floor exercises and kegels!”
- “If you just relax, the milk will flow / breast-feeding will be easier”
- “Never wake a sleeping baby”
- “You must use re-usable nappies / Disposable nappies are bad”
- “Add some baby rice to their bottle to fill them up”
- “Read to your baby”
- “Take lots of photos, they’re only small once!”
- “Don’t put them in childcare, they need you”
- “You’ll have to get them used to a bottle now or they’ll never take one”
- “Babies need a steady routine”
- “Don’t let the cat/dog/other pet go near the baby”
Would you agree? What would you add to the list? So many of these resonate for me, but the most annoying are 'sleep when the baby sleeps, 'oh it's just colic' and 'stop holding them so much!'