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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:• Instagram reels highlighting some counter cultural way to raise kids as a way to become an influencer seem to have replaced Facebook groups.
• a new parents group I was in through the hospital I delivered at had a large emphasis on the term “chest feeding” and reminding all participants that “mom” is an outdated and potentially hurtful term. (Honestly I’m pretty open minded but this group was too much for me)

+1. All the “chest-feeding” and “birthing parent” was enough for me to go “huh maybe those TERFs are on to something.”

TERFs are just actual feminists. As in, we care about actual women.

[Anonymous]

Solid Starts and baby led weaning (AKA bragging about feeding choking hazards with zero studies to prove there are long term benefits)

Gentle parenting

[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.

np. This works well when you have kids that are relatively safe climbing on their own. I have one kid who needs very little supervision at the playground and has been very independent since 14-months or so. My second child is three and still needs close supervision. He climbs just as well as the first, but shows bad judgment on occasion. Falls are very infrequent, but often enough that we can't relax and drink coffee like we could with the first.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Solid Starts and baby led weaning (AKA bragging about feeding choking hazards with zero studies to prove there are long term benefits)

Gentle parenting

maybe i'm doing solid starts wrong-- but isn't the point for me to learn how to cut/prep the food? My mother and mother in law always think i'm being over the top anxious as I follow it religiously as they would be happy to give much bigger chunks of choking hazard and feed my one year old nuts/seeds/etc?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solid Starts and baby led weaning (AKA bragging about feeding choking hazards with zero studies to prove there are long term benefits)

Gentle parenting

maybe i'm doing solid starts wrong-- but isn't the point for me to learn how to cut/prep the food? My mother and mother in law always think i'm being over the top anxious as I follow it religiously as they would be happy to give much bigger chunks of choking hazard and feed my one year old nuts/seeds/etc?

I think the criticism of Solid Starts is less about what you feed your 1 year old (toddler) and more the myriad of social media videos of 6 month olds gnawing on a drumstick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solid Starts and baby led weaning (AKA bragging about feeding choking hazards with zero studies to prove there are long term benefits)

Gentle parenting

maybe i'm doing solid starts wrong-- but isn't the point for me to learn how to cut/prep the food? My mother and mother in law always think i'm being over the top anxious as I follow it religiously as they would be happy to give much bigger chunks of choking hazard and feed my one year old nuts/seeds/etc?

I think the criticism of Solid Starts is less about what you feed your 1 year old (toddler) and more the myriad of social media videos of 6 month olds gnawing on a drumstick.

Yes, and also Solid Starts is always like “how to introduce cardamom pods to your baby” and it’s like… this is not a thing most sane people need guidance on. It’s dinner the top.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solid Starts and baby led weaning (AKA bragging about feeding choking hazards with zero studies to prove there are long term benefits)

Gentle parenting

maybe i'm doing solid starts wrong-- but isn't the point for me to learn how to cut/prep the food? My mother and mother in law always think i'm being over the top anxious as I follow it religiously as they would be happy to give much bigger chunks of choking hazard and feed my one year old nuts/seeds/etc?

I think the criticism of Solid Starts is less about what you feed your 1 year old (toddler) and more the myriad of social media videos of 6 month olds gnawing on a drumstick.

Yes, and also Solid Starts is always like “how to introduce cardamom pods to your baby” and it’s like… this is not a thing most sane people need guidance on. It’s dinner the top.

OVER the top

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

np. This works well when you have kids that are relatively safe climbing on their own. I have one kid who needs very little supervision at the playground and has been very independent since 14-months or so. My second child is three and still needs close supervision. He climbs just as well as the first, but shows bad judgment on occasion. Falls are very infrequent, but often enough that we can't relax and drink coffee like we could with the first.

I am the first PP. I have observed the soccer classes are very hit or miss at young ages. There are the kids that would have been just fine at the playground, the ones that do benefit from a structured class somewhat (but it is only 30 minutes and you commit to it for the full session) and those that hate it and cry the whole time. I would never recommend it for kids under 3. For us 4 was the first age when it felt worth it to go out of our way to get to the class every week.

[Anonymous]

Oh women who are afraid to dress their baby (girl or boy) in anything that looks girly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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

Interesting! Which direction was the breastfeeding badgering going? For or against?

Also, people in North Carolina thought you looked young to be having a baby? How old were you? Seems unusual for the south

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

np. This works well when you have kids that are relatively safe climbing on their own. I have one kid who needs very little supervision at the playground and has been very independent since 14-months or so. My second child is three and still needs close supervision. He climbs just as well as the first, but shows bad judgment on occasion. Falls are very infrequent, but often enough that we can't relax and drink coffee like we could with the first.

I am the first PP. I have observed the soccer classes are very hit or miss at young ages. There are the kids that would have been just fine at the playground, the ones that do benefit from a structured class somewhat (but it is only 30 minutes and you commit to it for the full session) and those that hate it and cry the whole time. I would never recommend it for kids under 3. For us 4 was the first age when it felt worth it to go out of our way to get to the class every week.

I am the $25 poster, I'm not expecting my kids to do much beyond trot around the general direction with kids their own age. I don't think my kids are going to be the next Mia Hamm, but it is nice for them to burn some energy and nice for me to stand on the sidelines with some other parents and chat about potty training regressions or the preschool lottery in our town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

np. This works well when you have kids that are relatively safe climbing on their own. I have one kid who needs very little supervision at the playground and has been very independent since 14-months or so. My second child is three and still needs close supervision. He climbs just as well as the first, but shows bad judgment on occasion. Falls are very infrequent, but often enough that we can't relax and drink coffee like we could with the first.

I am the first PP. I have observed the soccer classes are very hit or miss at young ages. There are the kids that would have been just fine at the playground, the ones that do benefit from a structured class somewhat (but it is only 30 minutes and you commit to it for the full session) and those that hate it and cry the whole time. I would never recommend it for kids under 3. For us 4 was the first age when it felt worth it to go out of our way to get to the class every week.

I am the $25 poster, I'm not expecting my kids to do much beyond trot around the general direction with kids their own age. I don't think my kids are going to be the next Mia Hamm, but it is nice for them to burn some energy and nice for me to stand on the sidelines with some other parents and chat about potty training regressions or the preschool lottery in our town.

Yeah for us and some other families we observed there was no chance of chatting on the sidelines because our kids refused to participate in most/all sessions. I'm glad it was a good experience for you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

np. This works well when you have kids that are relatively safe climbing on their own. I have one kid who needs very little supervision at the playground and has been very independent since 14-months or so. My second child is three and still needs close supervision. He climbs just as well as the first, but shows bad judgment on occasion. Falls are very infrequent, but often enough that we can't relax and drink coffee like we could with the first.

I am the first PP. I have observed the soccer classes are very hit or miss at young ages. There are the kids that would have been just fine at the playground, the ones that do benefit from a structured class somewhat (but it is only 30 minutes and you commit to it for the full session) and those that hate it and cry the whole time. I would never recommend it for kids under 3. For us 4 was the first age when it felt worth it to go out of our way to get to the class every week.

I am the $25 poster, I'm not expecting my kids to do much beyond trot around the general direction with kids their own age. I don't think my kids are going to be the next Mia Hamm, but it is nice for them to burn some energy and nice for me to stand on the sidelines with some other parents and chat about potty training regressions or the preschool lottery in our town.

Yeah for us and some other families we observed there was no chance of chatting on the sidelines because our kids refused to participate in most/all sessions. I'm glad it was a good experience for you!

I was chiming in with my 2c as to why I didn't think soccer for toddlers was the absolute WORST, it wasn't a catch-all to everyone's experience. From your position, knowing that your kids prefer other activities, not sure why you feel the need to put down other people's experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Why does your baby like it? That is very interesting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

np. This works well when you have kids that are relatively safe climbing on their own. I have one kid who needs very little supervision at the playground and has been very independent since 14-months or so. My second child is three and still needs close supervision. He climbs just as well as the first, but shows bad judgment on occasion. Falls are very infrequent, but often enough that we can't relax and drink coffee like we could with the first.

I am the first PP. I have observed the soccer classes are very hit or miss at young ages. There are the kids that would have been just fine at the playground, the ones that do benefit from a structured class somewhat (but it is only 30 minutes and you commit to it for the full session) and those that hate it and cry the whole time. I would never recommend it for kids under 3. For us 4 was the first age when it felt worth it to go out of our way to get to the class every week.

I am the $25 poster, I'm not expecting my kids to do much beyond trot around the general direction with kids their own age. I don't think my kids are going to be the next Mia Hamm, but it is nice for them to burn some energy and nice for me to stand on the sidelines with some other parents and chat about potty training regressions or the preschool lottery in our town.

Yeah for us and some other families we observed there was no chance of chatting on the sidelines because our kids refused to participate in most/all sessions. I'm glad it was a good experience for you!

I was chiming in with my 2c as to why I didn't think soccer for toddlers was the absolute WORST, it wasn't a catch-all to everyone's experience. From your position, knowing that your kids prefer other activities, not sure why you feel the need to put down other people's experiences.

I actually don’t think the person you were responding to was being rude or sarcastic.