Worst Parenting Advice?

bumptara · May 2015

It seems as if the moment baby enters the world, you automatically become a magnet for unsolicited advice. Sure, some of it might be helpful, but you’re likely to receive some wacky suggestions.

Here, Bumpies share the craziest tips they’ve heard.

What is the worst parenting advice you’ve received or heard?

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danagreat · May 2015

"Don't breastfeed, it will ruin your boobs"

Pffffffffff

aamari15 · May 2015

Let her cry , it's good for her lungs

Larati · June 2015

Worst: Feed her rice cereal to get her to sleep through the night

Best: it's ok if you need a break. Take ten minutes and come back. 10 minutes crying in a crib isn't gonna hurt your baby, and it lets you calm down enough to handle her.

kandace3322 · June 2015

I was told " they will sleep better if you give formula, it lasts longer." I ebf all of my kids and they would sleep 4-6 hours a night, even when newborn.

kandace3322 · June 2015

The only good advice I got was "don't tell anyone anything about your parenting." The rest was utter shit.

SharmenLisa · June 2015

My worst is a constant thing I hear often - "He just needs discipline and to be spanked", directed to my 4 year old Autistic son.

Yep, I'll discipline that ASD right on out of him, thanks assholes.

mars8k · June 2015

Only feed baby every 2 hours, if she is hungry before then, breastfeeding isn't working and she needs formula..

Sad part is it was from a pedatritian!!

LadyBlood · July 2015

Worst advice has all come from my mom
1. Lay him to sleep on his belly at night (umm, no!)
2. Feed him water between feedings it'll fill him up. (Also no!! That is so not ok, if he wants to feed clearly he needs to eat something with nourishment!)

hmcarey · July 2015

Feeding water to a baby is definitely a bad idea before 6 months (or unless directed by a pediatrician). Feeding a baby water can cause electrolyte imbalances which can lead to seizures and possibly death.

hmcarey · July 2015

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beemaya83 · July 2015

Larati said:

Worst: Feed her rice cereal to get her to sleep through the night

Best: it's ok if you need a break. Take ten minutes and come back. 10 minutes crying in a crib isn't gonna hurt your baby, and it lets you calm down enough to handle her.

My mother in law had an 11lbs bsby and says she used to add cereal to bottle so he could get full.......ummm just because they are big babies doesn't mean their stomach is huge when they are born!

mandap6816 · July 2015

When my baby gets fussy sometimes, everyone automatically assumes that she's hungry... Most times I just fed her!!! She's a month old and already over 11 pounds!! I'm pretty sure she's feeding just fine. It's just so frustrating.... Don't some people realize that sometimes a baby is just fussy?!?!?

ecleggett · July 2015

My future Mother-in-Law is fond of saying "Eh, just lay her down and let her cry it out!" It drives me mad! She is one month old she's not a toddler having a tantrum! If she's crying it's because she's communicating something with us, and yes maybe that is that she's overtired and cranky, but that does not mean you just put a screaming brand new baby down on the couch and walk away. It makes my blood boil.

laelha2 · July 2015

A random lady in Walmart told me "don't be afraid to bop her occasionally, she looks like she needs it..." My daughter and I were shopping for nail polish, and baby girl is 3 and was behaving perfectly...

chloepepper · July 2015

Put honey on the pacifier to get baby to take it - this advice was given by medical professional!!

Elecin · July 2015

laelha2 What in the................I'd kill her.

LeaSWed175213 · August 2015

I heard many people suggesting to give him water and leaving him to cry. The worst ever was when I was told that I am spoiling my child for picking him up whenever he started to cry.

skatie8191 · August 2015

Yes! My in laws say the same thing.. And then my mil said that no baby can survive off breast milk alone, you have to give them cereal or they won't get enough.

She also told me that when dh was a baby he always had runny poop so for like the first three months she fed him rice water until his poop got firm. I just stayed quiet.

NurseRieger · September 2015

skatie8191 said:
Yes! My in laws say the same thing.. And then my mil said that no baby can survive off breast milk alone, you have to give them cereal or they won't get enough.

She also told me that when dh was a baby he always had runny poop so for like the first three months she fed him rice water until his poop got firm. I just stayed quiet.

U should ask how all those babies survived for thousands of years before there was baby cereal lol

andrews301 · September 2015

When my daughter hits growth spurts, she eats like crazy, and I exclusively pump so for a couple weeks it was hard to keep up with her. Some people my boyfriend works with told him we should add cereal to her milk. Not rice cereal-- Corn flakes! They said to crush up regular corn flakes and add it to her milk! I told him he works with a bunch of morons and don't you dare ever listen to anything they say.

Grace2016 · September 2015

"Eat everything you want while pregnant or the baby will be a drooler"

MelJav · September 2015

So sick and tired of people telling me
What to do. I am due in February 2016 and the topic of breast feeding has come up. I am
Choosing not to and I am so sick of people telling me how I "will" feel after she is born.

NurseRieger · September 2015

I'm always hearing how small my son is and that gets irritating. His birth weight was 6lbs 7oz born 9 days early. At his 2 week check up he weighed 6lbs 15oz. While other moms get a guilt trip for not breastfeeding I get the "are u sure he's getting enough? " and "they don't want you to supplement with any formula" I just say the pediatrician is happy with his weight gain and the number of wet diapers I'm getting.

kazmierczak0314 · September 2015

My dad told me to let my 4 day old son "cry it out". Um excuse me... No.

massey25 · October 2015

"It can wait"( in regards to housework) to a certain extent I can see this being sound advice. However, I used this advice one day and skipped an entire day of bottle and pump parts washing.

What an awful idea

(

massey25 · October 2015

Sorry about the double pic!!

Seed0824 · October 2015

Worst ever: don't read or sing to them when they go to bed or they will expect it.

aida06 · October 2015

Worst advise I've got is: when your baby will be born feed him a formula if you will have not enough of breast milk supply

cecile88 · October 2015

Ohhhhhhhh my god! !!!

susandanger · October 2015

@Seed0824 doing that before bed is actually an excellent idea. Lol. Then whenever you're in a new place or what have you and you need him to sleep, doing that will help relax him so you can get him to sleep, since it's familiar.

susandanger · October 2015

@MelJav breast feeding is better, but formula isn't bad for baby, of course. You know what will be best for you, your baby, and your family. I breastfed for as long as I had colostrum, and then gave up. (I wasn't producing much, and formula is just more convenient for me and my family.)

susandanger · October 2015

I know that feel. My husband insists that I hold him too much. (He only ever says that when I put baby down and he begins to cry, which only happens like 40% of the time.)

TamarraL · October 2015

When reading the comments I was like "I know right" for 90% of them. The worst was feed baby water she must be thirsty (uhm no) and let her sleep on her tummy (uhm I don't think so). I just smile and wave lol. But to put the cherry on the top, I was told by my MIL that I feed her too much. If she's hungry, what do u expect me to do? Let my child starve?

Knottie4978096 · November 2015

Carry around a doll to introduce the concept of baby to your dogs. Um, hello - crazy pregnant lady carrying around a doll with very confused dogs who already adjusted to baby nieces just fine...... Yeah, no thanks - who has time for that anyway?

noetyra · November 2015

The nurse at the hospital told me I was holding my less than 24 hour old infant too much and she needed to get used to being alone. Oh and then on another note when she was demanding a urine sample from me she told me if I force myself to pee my uterus would pop out. REALLY?!

Kfraz3 · November 2015

Wow! It breaks my heart to see how many people think you should let a brand new baby "cry it out"!!! Poor babies! They are scared, and completely helpless and you're just gonna say "screw you kid. Deal with it"? Makes me sick to think people actually do this.

gabiutter · December 2015

.

red727 · December 2015

@TamarraLMy MIL thinks the same thing. I feed on demand. So she tries to "soothe" her when I know she is hungry. Baby is basically trying to latch onto everything in sight by the time she agrees that baby could be hungry. So annoying!

tad6614 · December 2015

"Give your baby (who's 4 weeks) water with oregano".. what???

jkloeppel · December 2015

I asked some friends for advice on how to get baby to sleep at night. One person said to use cry it out on my newborn. Another said to let her sleep on her stomach. Um no.

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