Parenting for Dummies

It's pretty easy to judge other people. Then all of a sudden it's you and everything changes.

Things I'm always shocked to see other people do:

• feed their babies, toddlers and preschools juice from a bottle

I'm not really sure how this happens. My babies and toddlers rarely get juice. But in a bottle?!? You have to be living under a rock to not know how mad that is for a kid's teeth, etc. I was shocked a few years ago when someone I grew up with, who I consider to be a very smart, educated person, had their 2 -3 year old sucking juice out of a bottle. I couldn't believe it.

• letting their small kids sit in the front seat of a car.

I understand that the new carseat/booster seat laws seem a bit extreme. I don't understand the small first graders in my daughter's class at school whose parents have them sit in the front passenger seat of their car. They aren't old cars from before the days of airbags. They aren't pick-up trucks with no back seats and so an airbag turn off option. It's the front seat of a car. I didn't think anyone still allowed a kid to sit up there and then I saw two different kids in a week get into the front seat of their car.


Here's where I'm slacking. With my first two kids I had them off of a bottle and formula right around a year old. I started introducing whole milk in a sippy cup to Baby X about a month ago. It hasn't gone over well. And then he got sick and was barely eating at all and I forgot all about getting him off formula and a bottle... I just wanted something going in his belly. So he's over a year and still has a bottle. I realize there are far worst things in the world, but in some sort of twisted way, it makes me feel smart and intelligent to be able to know and follow the basics of how to raise a baby and follow the pediatricians advice without second guessing them because I'm smarter (or something, why do people second guess their doctors? I guess because they know their kids best.?)

Also, with my other kids I turned their carseats around to face forward about a week before their first birthday (they've always been way over 20 lbs.). With Baby X it was too cold to venture outside for any unnecessary reason. So Jed, being the kind husband and dad that he is, turned the carseat last night. It was the highlight of Princess Sparkley and Buddy's day (and maybe a little bit Baby X's) to have his seat facing forward. Very fun.