But there is something about smug parents that just grinds my gears.
They can be the smug parent who is no longer living in the baby-sphere – they offer up ‘words of wisdom’ like:
– “My children would sleep through the nights from week two. I never had to do night feeds. If you’re still doing night feeds you’re spoiling your child and you’ll never have a good nights sleep.”
– “Everyone can breast feed! And everyone should breastfeed! If you’re not producing enough milk, you just need to feed your baby every hour to build up your supply. I fed my babies until they were three years old.”
– “Don’t take everything for granted about these safety precautions for children. My children didn’t have to ride in car seats and they survived.”
Or they can be the smug parent who almost wants to compete with you and your baby – they offer up ‘golden nuggets’ like:
– “Oh your baby is rolling over? My baby started rolling over three weeks ago. We’ve moved onto crawling and I’m guessing she’ll be walking by six months. Dave is going to sign her up for little A’s next weekend – he might even be able to compete and the next youth Commonwealth Games.”
– “We also tried solids. Rice cereal really wasn’t doing it for baby Jimmy so I whipped him up and steak and he really enjoyed it. Oh and the steak was organic and free range and containing no hormones… In fact we went out and massaged the cow before it died.”
– “Paul is so advanced. I read him a book the other day and now he’s reading my himself – in two languages. Oh your child hasn’t started talking yet? Gosh my 5 month olds say the cutest things.”
Hey ladies, we should all be given a medal for actually making it out of the house, dressed (in something other than track suit pants), with our hair brushed and our babies in something that hasn’t been vomited and/or pooed on.
Take a breath before you want to one up another mother – everyone is doing their best at raising their babies. And whatever they are doing (and whatever their babies are doing) is best for their baby.
