Tuesday 27 July 2010

What Not to Believe

Being a new parent is a minefield of conflicting information, so how do you filter out some of the guidelines that maybe aren't quite so imperative?

1) Ask where advice or guidelines come from - does the source have a hidden agenda or slight bias?
2) Ask for how long the advice or guideline has been in place - some were read as "facts" during NCT lessons yet when I asked, they said that had only been their advice for 6 months!
3) Ask your parents - okay, the world has moved on, but still we did manage to survive on their neanderthal 20th Century flimflam!
4) Use your own judgement - tricky at first but learn to back your judgement, and each other.
5) Don't read too much, it will just create uncertainty - you will find a book or approach that is more suited to you and your baby - stick broadly to that.
6) Listen to other parents with an open mind but don't let their opinions knock your confidence - use them for ideas only, as they don't know your child anywhere near as well as you do - all babies are different!  (I've been in a room with my 1 month old boy and 7 experienced older mothers who all said they thought my boy was upset because he was too cold - I felt hot, I know my boy feels heat like I do, so I took him outside to cool down and he was fine in a few seconds - that did my confidence the power of good!)

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