The Worst Parenting Advice: 20 Parents Talk About the Bad Advice They’ve Received

Roy

2 years ago

What's the worst parenting advice you ever received and why is it "enjoy every moment?"

When our daughter wouldn't sleep more than 40 min at a time, ppl said, "she'll grow out of it" Iwas like, "Look, f%]ker! I know she'll grow out of it. I'm not worried about her crying all night when she's 28. I need help now!"

"Sleep when your baby is sleeping". What? That was the only time I could get anything done!

Day 3 of weaning, first time he's actually eaten the food, ate a HUGE portion of broccoli, was advised by an elderly ex childminder that he shouldn't eat broccoli or cauliflower til 1+ as it would ferment in his stomach

Best: a lovely friend who messaged me with advice, and concluded, "Only take the advice you want to take (including this bit!)". Worst/funniest: "make sure you eat lots of different textures when you're breastfeeding*. I'm not sure that person had the physiology worked out!

Best: get them into a routine Worst: that routine we mentioned? We wanna see them, so you will scrap the routine. Doesn't matter if its at the child's expense.

Most useless thing people say to new parents (especially moms/gestational parents) is, "trust your gut." Having a kid didn't magically give me knowledge about how to care for a baby. The myth of "mother's instinct" made me feel like the only person overwhelmed by parenting a baby 1:24 PM - Aug 3, 2021

"If you think X is hard (fill in whatever you are struggling with, breastfeeding, sleeping, toilet training), Y (school, adolescence, college applications, whatever) is so much harder you will wish for X. Most unhelpful comment ever.

That the days are long but the years are short so appreciate the time you have with them. The years are short because I have blocked them from my memory in order to stay sane.

Enjoy them now because time flies and one day you'll be gone (because THAT isn't depressing to think about when your hormones are all over the place minutes after giving birth)

"vour body knows what to do!" @A man with no children told me this. Sir, I had two children and both times my body was absolutely confused about the whole situation.

oh also, "breastfeeding is free." when you add up the cost of nursing friendly clothes and bras, breastfeeding pillow (a must), a decent quality pump, lactation consultants if you need them - not to mention our time and energy- it's most certainly not free.

"He'll get tired and fall asleep in his crib eventually." No. No he didn't.

Worst: we did it when you were a kid and you were fine.

My father-in-law suggested I bite my breastfeeding baby back so I could "teach him a lesson."

The sentiment that your partner and your kids are/should be your "whole world" It's dangerously unhealthy to not nurture your interests and self outside of motherhood and we have a habit of applauding

The worst parenting advice we've heard is to wait on doing any particular thing because the kids are too young to remember it anyway. Photos will help them relive everything they forget. Early experience and exposure shapes who they are now and what they'll be interested in next.

"Never give your child a pacifier." Look, I tried. I tried SO HARD. But in the end, my sanity was worth it.

Imfaoo not advice but this reminds me of when my grandma told me she put her kids in laundry baskets in the car

Put them down sleepy but awake. HHAHAAAHAHHAAAAAAAAAA YEAH THAT WORKS.

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Roy

Roy R., Chief Meme Curator Roy founded Thunder Dungeon in 2012 and has since guided its growth into a 2.5 million‑strong community of meme enthusiasts. With over a decade of digital‑media experience and a nose for viral humor, Roy oversees content strategy, ensuring every post is both hilarious and high‑quality