By 9 PEOPLE REVEAL THE WORST PARENTING ADVICE THEY’VE EVER BEEN GIVEN
Just when you think you’ve heard it all …
By Lindsey Miller
Whether you just got married, you’re trying to get pregnant, you’re expecting or you already have five kids, you’ve probably been the recipient of some pretty crazy parenting advice.
You might think you’ve heard it all, between mothers-in-law and strangers on the street telling you all about the best way to breastfeed, but we’re pretty confident you haven’t heard anything like this.
Here are nine REAL pieces of horrible parenting advice people have been given:
1. Don’t let them get ahead
“Read your child a thousand books before letting them read one themselves. If they learn to read before they’re in school, they’ll just be bored and disruptive when they get there.”
2. How tall is too tall?
“Keep an eye on his size – you don’t want him growing too tall. You should water down the milk so he doesn’t get too much protein.”
3. Is this really the best way to get strong lungs?
“Crying is good for his lungs. If he hasn’t cried today you should make him. Try [pinching] his inner thigh really hard.”
4. If you want an entitled child
“Children are a gift and should be spoiled no matter what. You should give them everything they want whenever they ask for it.”
5. The pacifier won’t make a difference
“My son [would] grow up feeling neglected if we didn’t use a pacifier.”
6. They took it a little too far
“In order to cure stomach aches you push on their stomach until they puke, and then make them puke until they feel better.”
7. Don’t try this at home
“Someone convinced my sister that newborns can swim, but they forget how as they progress toward toddler years and have to learn all over again.”
8. Spanking the newborn?
“Just spank him.” (My son was two weeks old at the time.)
9. Please don’t
“You should breastfeed your child until at least age 5.”
Yikes, right? Although there’s some pretty great parenting advice out there, don’t take everything you hear to heart. In the end, you know what’s best for your child and how to parent them.
