The most annoying/ridiculous things about raising a baby/toddler in 2024?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids born in 2021 and 2023.

Gentle parenting

An influencer hawking a course or guide for every niche problem, from potty training to motor development to sleep training to feeding

Woke kids books

Which books?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a baby in 2015 and was TTC for 2 years before that, so a lot of your stuff from 2010-2012 was still true in 2015. I don’t think my friend group ever liked the indoor play areas or trampoline parks though, which was annoying for me because I love a good grimy indoor playground.

Then I had a baby in 2019. By that point the exclusive breastfeeding at all costs stuff had really started to die down. One thing that is different now is who is anti-vaccine and pro “natural health.” In 2010 I’m sure it was all the very liberal in liberal areas. By 2015 the hard right conservatives had started to pick up on it but the liberals hasn’t abandoned it yet. COVID was the thing that pushed all the liberals to the pro vaccine “science” camp. I’m pretty sure the anti-vax liberals are now conservatives with mostly conservative political views. It’s been a big change.

I also found that the emphasis on cloth diapers and buying a huge collection of baby wraps/carriers died down around 2015-2016. It seemed like those went along with the huge emphasis on breastfeeding.

The eye roll inducing trends now are:

huge emphasis on “gentle parenting” even though it clearly does not work at all for some kids. No time outs, lots of “ohhhh I see you are upset little Larlo, you’re really screaming and crying and kicking a lot.”

Autism awareness/acceptance, which is great, don’t get me wrong. My 2019 toddler has ASD but he was diagnosed by an actual doctor at age almost 3 with level 2 ASD. The eye rolls come about with the endless reels of little kids being basically normal, hyper little kids with a whole long caption about their autism and they are so smart and special! And the kids who are lower functioning are still looked down upon or forgotten about.

Beige and neutrals everything, millennial parents hate colorful kids stuff and plastic toys. Also, no artificial scents, dyes/colors, no plastic, organic even if it’s not proven to be any better. Thats the new conspicuous consumption. Everything is labeled as “Montessori” too.

Bluey, which is clearly enjoyed more by parents than kids. My kids like SpongeBob and my younger one likes Paw Patrol. The classics!

The competition now is about who’s kid started swimming and/or on the swim team the youngest, who started riding a 2 wheel bike the youngest, who was reading the youngest and the hardest books and who’s doing advanced math in 2nd grade, in some areas with ES kids who’s on the best travel soccer team.

My kids were born in 2000 and 2004. That was the trend then, too. Some things will never change in this area.

[Anonymous]

2024 is a good time for me to have a toddler imo but I’m a SAHM. The biggest issue broadly is of course affordable, high quality and reliable childcare for working parents.

None of the cultural stuff really bothers me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a baby in 2015 and was TTC for 2 years before that, so a lot of your stuff from 2010-2012 was still true in 2015. I don’t think my friend group ever liked the indoor play areas or trampoline parks though, which was annoying for me because I love a good grimy indoor playground.

Then I had a baby in 2019. By that point the exclusive breastfeeding at all costs stuff had really started to die down. One thing that is different now is who is anti-vaccine and pro “natural health.” In 2010 I’m sure it was all the very liberal in liberal areas. By 2015 the hard right conservatives had started to pick up on it but the liberals hasn’t abandoned it yet. COVID was the thing that pushed all the liberals to the pro vaccine “science” camp. I’m pretty sure the anti-vax liberals are now conservatives with mostly conservative political views. It’s been a big change.

I also found that the emphasis on cloth diapers and buying a huge collection of baby wraps/carriers died down around 2015-2016. It seemed like those went along with the huge emphasis on breastfeeding.

The eye roll inducing trends now are:

huge emphasis on “gentle parenting” even though it clearly does not work at all for some kids. No time outs, lots of “ohhhh I see you are upset little Larlo, you’re really screaming and crying and kicking a lot.”

Autism awareness/acceptance, which is great, don’t get me wrong. My 2019 toddler has ASD but he was diagnosed by an actual doctor at age almost 3 with level 2 ASD. The eye rolls come about with the endless reels of little kids being basically normal, hyper little kids with a whole long caption about their autism and they are so smart and special! And the kids who are lower functioning are still looked down upon or forgotten about.

Beige and neutrals everything, millennial parents hate colorful kids stuff and plastic toys. Also, no artificial scents, dyes/colors, no plastic, organic even if it’s not proven to be any better. Thats the new conspicuous consumption. Everything is labeled as “Montessori” too.

Bluey, which is clearly enjoyed more by parents than kids. My kids like SpongeBob and my younger one likes Paw Patrol. The classics!

The competition now is about who’s kid started swimming and/or on the swim team the youngest, who started riding a 2 wheel bike the youngest, who was reading the youngest and the hardest books and who’s doing advanced math in 2nd grade, in some areas with ES kids who’s on the best travel soccer team.

Agree with a lot of those (my kid actually does like Bluey though, it's the #1 most requested screen time in our house hands down, and is definitely not for us).

The beige thing is truly baffling to me. Beige nurseries, beige toys, beige baby and kid clothes. I think they think it's soothing? I don't know. Not only is my kid's room not beige, but she is a girl who has expressed and incredibly intense preference for pink, ruffles, bows, unicorns, and all things "girly" from an extreme young age even though I'm not like that at all and pretty much all our baby stuff was gender neutral (still colorful, but we didn't buy a bunch of pink stuff). People are so freaked out by this, and I think assume we've indoctrinated our child into believing "pink is for girls" and are trying to force her to hate math and be a homemaker. It's really interesting. It really is just her preference. She's actually really good at math for a kid her age!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids born in 2021 and 2023.

Gentle parenting

An influencer hawking a course or guide for every niche problem, from potty training to motor development to sleep training to feeding

Woke kids books

Which books?

Anti-racist baby, A is for Activist, books for toddlers about RBG. Just go to the kids section at Politics and Prose and you’ll see what I mean. They are not at all helpful for having age-appropriate conversations about race with young children and I sincerely think that they’re just a way for parents to virtue signal.

[Anonymous]

The competition to determine who has the most open minded child/ you’re the most progressive parent. Our daycare highlights how they’re so supportive of transgender children and start a curriculum in the infant class to treat acceptance. Our application also had a section for parents to discuss how they demonstrate these principles at home. It seems like a lot for the under 3 year old set when I’d prefer they learn general kindness and motor skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a fun post! My kids were 2011, 2013, and 2019. My 2011 kid is the one for whom I spent the most time on message boards, since I had no experience with babies. There was definitely a divide between parents on their 2nd-3rd kids, who were still a bit more old school, and the new moms who were very dogmatic about breastfeeding, etc. With my first, I didn't even have a smart phone, so it's funny to think how technology was just not a part of her life till she was 2-3 yo.

I did not keep up with the newer trends by the time my 3rd came along, but it seems like moms now are much more critical of sleep training and more cautious about baby sleep positions. (My older two slept in rock n play type things with their pediatricians' blessings.) It also seems like today's parents are more cautious about rear facing in the car seat until they are like 8 years old. I have noticed kids seem to be younger and younger when they get personal electronics.

I'm the PP with the kids born in 2000 & 2004. The trend for rear facing was virtually non-existent when mine were young, and everyone basically called me insane for keeping both of them rear facing until they were 2, and in booster seats until they hit both the age and weight recommondations--which was around 8 -9 yrs old as a recall, when many of their friends were already sitting in the front seat. I didn't let them in the front seat until about 6 months prior to getting a learner's permit, at which point I figured they better start paying attention to what goes on!

[Anonymous]

Had my babies in 2009 and 2011. Breast vs. formula, medicated vs. natural birth, attachment parenting. All so annoying and so irrelevant now that these kids are in high school and middle school!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids born in 2021 and 2023.

Gentle parenting

An influencer hawking a course or guide for every niche problem, from potty training to motor development to sleep training to feeding

Woke kids books

Which books?

Anti-racist baby, A is for Activist, books for toddlers about RBG. Just go to the kids section at Politics and Prose and you’ll see what I mean. They are not at all helpful for having age-appropriate conversations about race with young children and I sincerely think that they’re just a way for parents to virtue signal.

Someone got our 2021 baby A is for Activist. It's one of her favorite books, but I hate reading it. I've basically disappeared A is for Awesome because that is even more irritating.

[Anonymous]

I think the breastfeeding/formula thing goes in waves and can also just depend on where you live and who is around you when you have your baby. To some degree it's all the same because it's about judging moms of babies either way. I had a baby in 2017 and in 2021 and the main difference was that the second time I cared WAY less about other people's opinions on how I fed my baby. I did the same thing both times, but the second time I didn't second-guess it and just waved off comments and questions from other people because I knew it was all BS at that point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$200+ soccer classes for toddlers are The Worst IMO

Those break down to $25 per class and gets us out of the house for a few hours every Saturday morning. Trust me, I would pay $25 for someone to run my toddlers on the weekends we don't have soccer (or another activity) where I can sip my coffee while it's still warm.

[Anonymous]

Seeing the parent/caregiver on screens - iPad, tablet, phone instead of interacting with the baby.

Seeing the baby/under two year-old on screens.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious!

My babies were born in 2010 and 2012, so I'm totally out of the loop!

For a blast from the past, here's what I remember rolling my eyes at a decade+ ago:

-New mom Facebook groups with names like "The private AWESOME mommy group <3"
-Packs of moms in yoga pants doing exercises with their strollers at places like the Mosaic District
-Strollers as status symbols (suspect this is still the name!)
-Grimey mall play areas being the #1 toddler attraction
-Mommy and me movies where people still shushed you if your baby was being loud
-Unsolicited advice from strangers at Target about your feeding choice, regardless of whether it was bottle or breast
-Competition from other moms about who could breastfeed the longest (especially without supplementing)

I had babies in 1980's and 1990's
1. People who touched my belly unsolicited.
2. People in NC who thought I looked too young to carry a child told me "it was good of me to be carrying for some other family to adopt" WTF?
3. People who walked up to me and said "god bless that child"
4. Men who told me I was on the "mommy track" at work. In fact I surpassed all those idiots within three years and two kids later.
5. Women who badgered me about breastfeeding.

See OP it's all in perspective

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$200+ soccer classes for toddlers are The Worst IMO

Those break down to $25 per class and gets us out of the house for a few hours every Saturday morning. Trust me, I would pay $25 for someone to run my toddlers on the weekends we don't have soccer (or another activity) where I can sip my coffee while it's still warm.

Real question, not snark. Why can’t you just go to the playground? I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Every Saturday we go to a coffee shop, get a bagel or pastry or something, and then we go to the playground. We’re all out of the house for a few hours and they love it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$200+ soccer classes for toddlers are The Worst IMO

Those break down to $25 per class and gets us out of the house for a few hours every Saturday morning. Trust me, I would pay $25 for someone to run my toddlers on the weekends we don't have soccer (or another activity) where I can sip my coffee while it's still warm.

Real question, not snark. Why can’t you just go to the playground? I have a 1 year old and a 3 year old. Every Saturday we go to a coffee shop, get a bagel or pastry or something, and then we go to the playground. We’re all out of the house for a few hours and they love it.

Because at the playground you’re on duty watching/guiding/ playing with your kid. At soccer, someone else is doing all that. You get an hour “off” to drink coffee.