Best Advice Ever

When my wife was pregnant with number one, I was given the best piece of advice by my brother in law who is a Dad of one boy. He said this; "I’m not going to give you any advice." What? I'm about to be a Dad, I look to you for guidance, I need you right now! He went on, "You are going to get advice from so many people, so take the advice they give you, nod politely, thank them, think about it and then make your own decision."

We’ve all been told what to do under the guise of advice. Members of family consider it their right to inject their opinion into your parenting and that’s mostly ok for them to do that. His point is that at the end of the day, Aunty Busybody isn’t in charge, you are.
I laugh when I remember back to those ante natal classes and all that stuff they teach you that covers everything right up until the birth. Once the baby is out though, that’s it. There is nothing more that this particular type of night class can give you. You’re on your own buddy. From the moment you strap them into the capsule in your car for the first time, the drive home, the placing of the capsule on the floor of the lounge and the looking at your child from the couch wondering what to do next.

We do it though don’t we? Baby cries so we get them out of the capsule, we feed them, change them, bath them and put them to bed and we do this over and over again and will continue to do these sorts of things one step at a time into the foreseeable future. Much of the advice you will get will be immensely useful, the important thing to remember is that your children are yours to nurture and grow and you can trust your own judgement. While everyone has their opinions and ideas, and many of those are excellent, what works in each family is different. There are a lot of variations on the theme of parenting and in your family, your decisions are the ones that matter.

-Dave Smart