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But a lot of information has changed because many babies weren't fine, they died. Some were just lucky that their babies survived into adulthood. It had nothing to do with their parenting skills.
Everytime we visit my MIL she complains about how restricting car seats are and how they should still be optional... Great that her children all survived without a car seat and were just fine "rolling around in the backseat" as she says, but there's a reason for today's car seat laws. She can complain about car seats all she wants to me, but my baby will be rear facing until at least 2 for his own safety.
She also thinks leaving a baby to nap on an adult bed is perfectly safe... I'm sure plenty of babies are fine taking such naps, just not a risk I'm wanting to take. Plenty have died rolling off beds or from positional asphyxiation...
And that's just two examples of outdated information she's talked about... I could go on and on about the things she says that are no longer recommended as safe.
The examples in the article might sound silly to some posters, but there are definitely grandparents that are following outdated advice that can be dangerous, if not deadly.
Maybe great grandparents. But the examples given in the article are things I knew about, when my kids were babies. I'm 65 now.
I knew not to give alcohol to babies
I knew that the bumper pads in the crib were a no-go.
I knew the importance of car seats
I knew babies should be sleeping on their backs, but it's important for them to have tummy time.
Considering many grandparents are in their 40's...that article was basically click-bait.
IMO, if they REALLY wanted to educate parents and grandparents, write about behavioral and developmental milestones one can expect for the babies and children in their care.
Don't worry. When today's parents become grandparents themselves, they'll be told that all the expert advice they followed is out of date and the best thing is to put babies to sleep on their heads or something. So much "expert" medical advice has come full circle since my kids were born that is seems to change with each new generation.
Exactly. I remember when my older sister had her first child. She followed Dr. Spock who was by many deemed the expert. When she had her second, she threw the book away. Some of his advice is outdated, some may still be relevant.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SnazzyB
Maybe great grandparents. But the examples given in the article are things I knew about, when my kids were babies. I'm 65 now.
I knew not to give alcohol to babies
I knew that the bumper pads in the crib were a no-go.
I knew the importance of car seats
I knew babies should be sleeping on their backs, but it's important for them to have tummy time.
Considering many grandparents are in their 40's...that article was basically click-bait.
IMO, if they REALLY wanted to educate parents and grandparents, write about behavioral and developmental milestones one can expect for the babies and children in their care.
Agreed, I'm old enough to have grands (most of my friends do) and all of that was already known when my kids were born in the late eighties. Now, MY mom otoh probably still subscribes to some of those old ways, but she's eighty some years old.
Maybe great grandparents. But the examples given in the article are things I knew about, when my kids were babies. I'm 65 now.
I knew not to give alcohol to babies
I knew that the bumper pads in the crib were a no-go.
I knew the importance of car seats
I knew babies should be sleeping on their backs, but it's important for them to have tummy time.
Considering many grandparents are in their 40's...that article was basically click-bait.
IMO, if they REALLY wanted to educate parents and grandparents, write about behavioral and developmental milestones one can expect for the babies and children in their care.
Exactly. Im in your age range.
So, who dosen't know not to give alcohol to babies. But its not that the older generation has outdated ideas about babies so much as things were much different back then, for my generation and the previous one. Used to be many cough syrups contained alcohol. Do you remember paregoric? It was commonly prescribed for colic. People wouldn't think of it today.
And car seats in the day were basically highchairs without legs. There was nothing safe about them.
The great Dr. Spock pushed putting babies to sleep on their tummies. Isnt co-sleeping a rather new concept. I believe that is the cause of most of the falling off beds and suffocation.
The few times we sat for our grandkids for a several hour stretch, we checked with their parents regarding how they wanted things done. For example, when was nap time? What did they eat for lunch?, etc. Even now when the grandkids are teens, we still check with their Dad as to when they can have sweets or if they are allowed to eat certain foods.
As for car seats, yeah, I did notice that the older generations had a hard time with that. When our daughter was a month old, my grandmother and great-aunt were visiting my aunt. We took our daughter to my aunt's house so that everybody could meet her. When it was time to go home, our daughter turned fussy and was crying. My great-aunt was just horrified to see me put our daughter in the car seat. She told me I should be holding the baby! I let my great-aunt know that it was against the law. Even then, she didn't get it.
It seems like grandparents I have known love watching their grandkids. They just don’t want to have to do it all the time in the place of daycare.
I agree. I always loved to be with my grands. I even ended up finishing raising them when their mom abandoned them.
Just saying if parents think the grandparents are too stupid to watch the kids and need classes in order to do so or they have such a list of dos and donts, hire a nanny.
The few times we sat for our grandkids for a several hour stretch, we checked with their parents regarding how they wanted things done. For example, when was nap time? What did they eat for lunch?, etc. Even now when the grandkids are teens, we still check with their Dad as to when they can have sweets or if they are allowed to eat certain foods.
As for car seats, yeah, I did notice that the older generations had a hard time with that. When our daughter was a month old, my grandmother and great-aunt were visiting my aunt. We took our daughter to my aunt's house so that everybody could meet her. When it was time to go home, our daughter turned fussy and was crying. My great-aunt was just horrified to see me put our daughter in the car seat. She told me I should be holding the baby! I let my great-aunt know that it was against the law. Even then, she didn't get it.
I think anyone not familiar with car seats has a hard time both putting them in the vehicle correctly and securing the child in them. I know in my area both the hospital and the police department hold demonstrations/classes on this for new parents and anyone who will be caring for a child.
Nope, the examples I gave were things my MIL, my son's grandmother, said just a few months ago in June. And that was just some of the outdated advice she tried giving us.
Quote:
But the examples given in the article are things I knew about, when my kids were babies. I'm 65 now.
...
I knew that the bumper pads in the crib were a no-go.
The AAP didn't advise against padded crib bumpers until 2011 after a 2007 study found them hazardous. They weren't banned from being sold until May 2022. Crib bumpers were still very popular in the 90s, being sold with crib sets.
Quote:
Considering many grandparents are in their 40's...that article was basically click-bait.
I'm sure there are many grandparents in their 40s, but most are not. The average age of a first time grandparent is 50. But it's not just first time grandparents giving questionable advice. My in-laws have 5 other grandchildren.
My mil is in her mid 70s, my fil is 80. Their youngest is 40, so when they talk about how they raised their own kids, it was a while ago. A lot has changed in 40 years... A lot of research has been done to find safer ways to care for babies.
Quote:
IMO, if they REALLY wanted to educate parents and grandparents, write about behavioral and developmental milestones one can expect for the babies and children in their care.
It doesn't have to be one or the other. There's room to educate people on both safe practices and developmental milestones. And a lot of it goes hand and hand.
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I let my great-aunt know that it was against the law. Even then, she didn't get it.
