10 TERRIBLE Pieces of Parenting Advice You Should Totally Ignore

by Jill Smokler January 30, 2012 at 6:56 PM in Baby

Advice. It's the one thing you never need to ask for, but always have too much of.

People are more than happy to share exactly how they managed to raise the most perfect children in the world, telling you everything from how to get them to sleep to the best way to wean them off the pacifier to getting them to study at night. Everyone and their mother are an expert on child-rearing, it seems.

I asked by friends for the worst piece of parenting advice they ever received and got some whoopers -- sound familiar?

1. "Sleep when she sleeps. What a crock of shit! If I'd done that, I'd have starved, stunk, needed the diaper myself."

2. "That my autistic son would 'grow out of it.' Uh huh."

3. "To give my baby mashed potatoes to help him sleep through the night ... He was 3 weeks old!"

More from The Stir: 10 Snarky Responses to Unwanted Parenting Advice

4. "My pediatrician's advice for flying internationally with a 2-year-old and 4-year-old -- sleep deprivation for a few days before the flight so they'll sleep. Because overtired little kids are SO MUCH EASIER than normal ones."

5. "It's okay to ask for help from your mother-in-law."

6. "You don't feel pain, it's pressure! Hahahaha ... obviously they have never had a baby above 7 pounds!"

7. "To beat, not only spank, but beat my 3-year-old son when he refused to use the toilet. Because nothing says I want you to be comfortable using the commode like getting your butt smacked for refusing."

8. "That I should let my husband relax when he gets home from work because I've been home all day with a baby and a 2-year-old and therefore have no right to some help in the evenings."

9. "The second one is easier than the first. And once you have two, it doesn't matter how many more you have, it's all the same. BULLSHIT."

10. "You can't get pregnant if you're breastfeeding. My three kids prove THAT one wrong!"

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Comments 78

wyotechangel

January 31, 2012 at 2:48 AM

my bf saying i stay home so he gets to relax and play games and smoke all because i care enough to stay home and raise a child like i get to sleep and have a life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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katyq

January 31, 2012 at 3:31 AM

I agree with most of them...you didn't add "dont pick him up too much or you'll spoil him"...god! Even if you COULD spoil your baby, wouldn't you want to?

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wrldovcare

January 31, 2012 at 8:01 AM

Don't hold your baby too much, it spoils him.

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Nonmember comment from B

January 31, 2012 at 8:24 AM

"Let her cry herself to sleep." I have heard this so many times and it infuriates me. My daughter is stubborn and will cry incessantly until she is held or given what she wants. I can't just lay her down and walk away and expect her to fall asleep on her own. If she is crying, it's for a reason. She has a routine of how she likes to go to sleep at night and that may be partially my fault but it's the only thing that works. She lays next to me and I breastfeed her, and as soon as she is asleep, I move her to her cradle next to my bed. Sometimes she wakes up as I move her and starts freaking out but if I just let her cry she would scream til she lost her voice.

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Nonmember comment from TJ

January 31, 2012 at 8:38 AM

MIL-13 hours after my LG was born and started to cry: Don't pick her up or she will get spoiled and will get used to being in your arms. I would hope so, lady! At 26 months I can barely get my DD to stop and and be in my arms, unless she's hurt, of course, then it's all hugs, kisses, and cuddles until she's off to where she left off.

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MoonShadow3

January 31, 2012 at 8:56 AM

you dont have to wake a sleeping baby to change their diaper. ummm why? why would i want my child to sleep in a wet diaper? and have that moisture cause a rash that will hurt her? I'm not comfortable when I sleep in a wet pad when i'm on my rag, why would i do that to a little baby. Change their diapers ppl, yes they may wake up, but at least they wont get a rash.

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SwannK

January 31, 2012 at 9:06 AM

LOL @ number 8 .. my MIL is like that.. That's MY job.. It is beaneath him as a man I guess to do such menial tasks for his children.. We do not live in same country so when we are not around her.. he is more helpful.. When we visit.. he forgets he has kids.

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Nonmember comment from anon

January 31, 2012 at 9:09 AM

I disagree with a lot of those, except #9. I have 4 kids, my boys (my 1st and 2nd children) are only 11 months apart. They are actually the same age for a few weeks out of the year, and for me at least, the second baby was A LOT easier. It also got easier with each one. I was more experienced, I had learned a lot more, created a routine, and so on. Fir me it wasn't just 'all the same" but that's my take on it. I took each piece of advice with a grain of salt, everyone's experience is different...while I would never beat my kids with objects or anything else to get them to potty on the toilet nor would I feed a newborn anything resembling solid food, some of the advice I listened to some I didn't. Same with Any advice we get in life.

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OneAllergicMama

January 31, 2012 at 9:14 AM

Not only did I ask from my MIL, she lived with us (she sold her home to move in with us when my oldest was 6mo). I honestly couldn't have survived without her.

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mommy2b39465

January 31, 2012 at 9:24 AM

my mother told my husband that I should let him sleep while I took care of our newborn twins by myself in the middle of the night, because after all he did have to wake up early to go to his job. I coulda killed her.

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