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The last giveaway for today is from Go Mama Go Designs, creators of the unique Wonder Bumpers, the latest smart solution for crib bumpers.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) strongly discourages the use of traditional bumper pads. The AAP, along with First Candle SIDS Alliance and Health Canada recommend the removal of the traditional bumper pad as soon as your baby moves about the crib, a milestone that occurs between 4 and 8 months. Thus, the shelf-life of an expensive bumper is quite short-lived and parents are left with inadequate options, cold hard crib rails or a soft, unsafe bumper.
Wonder Bumpers‘ vertical padding, which tightly wraps around each individual crib rail, provides a solution to this long-standing issue. Their shape reflects the vertical design of a crib and enhances the safety features already built into it.
These covers individually zip around each crib rail, providing both padding and airflow. They’re easy to put on, and the fabric is so soft. My 17-month-old son loves playing with these things after he wakes up from his nap! The pattern is reversible, so you can create any sort of design on the crib.
Go Mama Go wants to give one Simple Mom reader a set of their choice of Wonder Bumpers!
To win, here’s how to enter:
Leave a comment at this post, answering the following question: What is the strangest piece of child rearing advice you’ve ever heard?
The giveaway is open to anyone worldwide, and it lasts until this Saturday, May 30.
I hope you win! Check back in a few hours for another giveaway.
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The weirdest piece of advice on child rearing I’ve received came from someone I didn’t know (of course!)…she told me to let my child stay up as long as he wants too…that it promotes a healthy “independent” child…oh my!
To me, the strangest advice is to always let your children have what THEY want, when THEY want it. If you’re not careful, they are soon running you ragged.
My grandma always tells me to put lotion on our babies’ heads!
Honestly, I can’t think of any really bad advice. I must just filter it all out!
“You can’t spoil a child.” Someone actually said that to me once. His kids are CA-RAZY wild, so it shows in his parenting!!!
my MIL told me that playing with baby’s feet will stunt their growth.
sigh.
Chris´s last blog post…Have you seen this?
I can’t think of anything that I’ve heard that was completly ridiculous but I could share that before I had children, I had this crazy idea that using orajel on babies gums might freeze their throats and be fatal. I told my sister she really shouldn’t be using it! Then I had little ones who were teething…………
Actually – Orajel doesn’t “freeze” the babies throat, but it does inhibit the red blood cells from carrying oxygen. Used as directed it isn’t a problem, but if a little one gets ahold of the stuff and swallows some of it the Orajel can kill them by basically suffocating them. We found this out the hard way – one of my little sisters ate half a tube of the stuff, poison control didn’t know if it was an issue or not, we called my Aunt who was a chemist and read the ingredients to her she said go to the hospital NOW. By the time we got there (about 20 to 30 minutes after the Orajel had been eaten) my sister was turning blue and would have died within another 10 minutes without medical intervention.
Blessed´s last blog post…Sprinkles
That a pacifier is the key to an independent person.
Brooke´s last blog post…Link action to your right
I’ve heard several times to use some brandy on the gums of a teething baby to help ‘soothe’ them. I haven’t tried it, but I will the next time I (personally) need some soothing!
Sarah´s last blog post…Wall decals
Nipple confusion. I don’t think giving a baby a pacifier is confusing. They are smart enough to know the difference
While teething, rub some rub on his gums so he can sleep…huh? what? i don’t think so! ; )
The strangest advice I got was to flip my newborn upside down because she had her days and nights backwards…WHAT!!
can’t think of any crazy advice i’ve been given – i must be surrounded by wise experienced parents =)
Probably that starting her on cereal at 4 months would make her obese later in childhood. Right. I have a baby in the 7th percentile for weight. I think she’ll be okay.
Strangest advice: “Don’t cut your baby’s hair before he is one year old, because if you do then he will have a speech problem”…good thing my son probably won’t need a hair cut before he’s one!
Amy´s last blog post…Becoming a big boy
I’ve heard that playing with a screaming baby’s feet will calm them down. I’ve seen it work, but never for my kid.
Christi higham´s last blog post…Around the house
Wow… I would LOVE to win these! My 6-month-old has just outgrown the bassinet.
Strangest advice (but it’s true and it does work!): squirt breastmilk into a watery/goopy eye.
I did the same thing. I also put it on the little scratches on my baby’s face (even if I trim her nails on time, they still scratch!)
I can’t think of any bad advice. Only ever been given good advice.
Lisette´s last blog post…Coupon Giveaway at Saving Cents with Sense
Those are SO cute! We have no crib bumper, and sadly, our crib is just a vast sea of plain white sheet. This would sure dress it up. Weirdest parenting advice…probably some I heard today: that no matter how bad your kids are, you would never change it. What???
Minnesotamom´s last blog post…I Heart Faces – Silhouettes
i don’t know about “strange” but i always think it is dangerous that a doctor once recommended benadryl to parents that couldn’t get their child to sleep through the night. what a terrible habit to start, even if it does work.
I got tired of hearing that if my baby used a pacifier, her teeth would stick out!
The strangest piece I heard was to give the baby foods that he wants and let him choose what to eat. If he didn’t want to eat them, provide him with something else. Umm… I’m pretty sure he’s a baby and I’m not a short-order cook.
My mother-in-law told me about some advice that her sister’s doctor had given her when she had her first baby (a while ago). He told her to just shut the door and let the baby cry – don’t go in and get him at all until it’s time to wake up. How horrible!
Giving whiskey to a teething child. Who gives whiskey to a child? I guess it was a lot more common back in the day.
My grandma swears that rubbing whiskey on their gums helps with teething,,, I wonder why! She also swears by massaging whiskey on their backs if they are crying. Thank God we have never had to use these measures
Strangest advice I’ve been given was to not hold my newborn very often because it would make him too dependent on me!!! WHAT??????? That was one that went in one ear and out the other immediately!!!
How funny, I am also going to say: my grandmother used to say to put whiskey on their gums when they are teething too. I’m too chicken to try that (and we don’t have any whiskey anywyay). I’ll just stick with the Hyland’s teething tablets.
To give your baby their soother dipped in honey.
They are ready for solids when they want what’s on your plate. What baby isn’t interested in everything you’re doing? I’ve never understood that one.
Oddly, my little guy wasn’t at all interested in what was on my plate until he was actually ready to eat solids (about 6 months old). Weird, huh?
I had a friend who told me to rub rum on a baby’s gums to soothe them during teething. i never tried it.
The strangest advice I’ve seen came from “the happiest baby on the block”: if baby cries, make loud noises in his ear and shake him around! That just sounds like abuse to me, and if it does seem to work and baby stops crying, it’s probably just because he’s terrified you’ll start doing that noise again!
I really hope to win this – this is probably the 5th or 6th giveaway I’ve entered for WonderBumpers. Can’t afford them but they would be so nice as a safer alternative to the old style bumpers!
sararachelle´s last blog post…Design
I was told that leaving my child to watch TV in the playpen while I did housework downstairs was a great time saver
OK! This will definately count as the WEIRDEST! I was with a friend whose baby had thrush, and a Jamaican woman told her to wipe a “peepee diaper” on the baby’s tongue. Oh yes she did! She actually advised to take a dirty diaper, with pee on it, and wipe it on the tongue to take away thrush. With a straight face. We still die laughing over this weird advice!
Sara*MamaGoesGreen*´s last blog post…National Healthy Schools Day
Hmmm… strange advice? Can’t think of anything totally strange, but I did get tired of hearing my MIL say you should NEVER, NEVER wake a sleeping baby. Sometimes when you’re trying to establish a schedule, it has to be done!
Randa Clay´s last blog post…Judgement
I read a make-your-own-babyfood book once that had recipes for babies starting at 6 weeks old. I don’t even offer rice cereal till 6 months old.
Jessie Stimpson´s last blog post…The Little Artist’s Paint Creations
My grandmother told me that if my baby cries too much to put a cup of water under his crib overnight and then throw the water away the next morning!
Beka´s last blog post…Hank’s Birthday Party
The strangest advice I ever got was from my MIL who chastised me because my 13 month old was eating more than purees. I still have to force her to feed him more than yogurt and mashed bananas.
I was told that buying shoes before the baby was born was very, very bad luck. We buy everything else before the baby arrives though, so I’m not sure what it is about the shoes. By I’ve seen a couple moms refuse to get shoes or receive them as gifts for fear it would somehow hurt their unborn child.
The weirdest old wives tale I’ve ever heard was that tickling a baby’s feet will make him/her stutter.
I was told that if my son didn’t crawl and went straight to walking that he’d have trouble learning to read. Now that he’s mastered crawling a “late” walker however, this same person told me he’s knees will be completely damaged if he doesn’t walk soon! Why can’t I just let him go at his own pace? : )
What a neat product! The strangest advice we got…hmmm. I’d say that was a from a friend who told us after we got our puppy that our new baby would be 10 times easier than a new puppy! So, either we had the world’s easiest puppy (ha!) or newborns really are hard work! =]
Kelly´s last blog post…A New Discovery
There are a ton of whisky/rum etc. on the binky or gums for teething which I’ve heard too. I’m sure it works, but not a great idea!
Even more strange was when I was doing humanitarian work in an orphanage in Ecuador kids who cried too much were sprayed with vodka (done by spitting it on them) and tapped repeatedly on the head and face with a branch of sage brush. It was supposed to cleanse them of the devil that was possessing them and making them cry. I think it’s important to be respectful of other cultures beliefs and traditions, but seriously?!
Cry it out method. I just could never get myself to even try it out. :/
LeeAnn Howard´s last blog post…Its getting closer to D-day.
Someone told me and my husband that children don’t understand the word “no” until they are two (they may have said 3, but I will give him the benefit of my doubt). I have a 15 month old and he understands it.
Kelly´s last blog post…Big day for Lindy.
Shave your babies head and then they will have better hair and be smarter. Did not use that tip from all the nannies/shopkeeper types in China!
Amy´s last blog post…the shanty town I live on top of
That putting rice cereal in the bottle will help a very young baby sleep.
I love these! I have been wondering what to use for bumpers when my 4 month old starts getting more mobile. The strangest advice I have heard was from a Dr. Sears book – to help your constipated infant in a bath up to their chest and rub their belly to help things along so they end up going in the water. Yes we tried it, and yes it worked!
The weirdest thing someone told me was that every time a baby sneezes they grow a little bit!
These are so fantastic!
My son was a preemie and a nurse at the hospital told us that we should plan to keep him inside for the first year of his life. Yes, the entire year.
My mil made me feel like breastfeeding my kids was a substandard way to feed babies. (i have four and have bf until at least 10 months for each)
To stop hysterical crying you’re supposed to dip a sleeve of your PJs in water and wipe baby’s face. Heard that from a mother of 3. Very silly and doesn’t work.
Emma @ Baby-log.com´s last blog post…Potty training, step 1 – choosing a potty
That epidurals don’t allow you to fully experience the joy and pain of child birth. The ones I had allowed me to get up sooner to enjoy my babies more quickly. It is just a personal preference, I guess.
I love reading all these comments. I guess the weirdest advice I have heard is using breastmilk in the ear for ear infections and the eye too for eye troubles. I have done this and I know it works, just seems so weird.
Crystal´s last blog post…Woops, she did it again
I am preg with my first and I get lots of comments on how so ALOT of stuff that people seem to think I need….
People seem to think that I am wierd that I am not gonna put my baby on a sched for feeding. Oh well!
Reading the comments is hilarious. As for strange advice, that one comes from my great-grandmother who always told my father never to turn us upside down (like while we were playing or goofing off) because it would “turn our liver over.” And once a liver is turned over, apparently, it can’t turn back. Never knew what would happen then, but it was a serious warning.
these bumpers are gorgeous!! how have i not seen them before??
years ago, a friend of mine told me that if you trim a newborn baby girl’s eyelashes, they will grow long and beautiful. can you imagine taking sharp scissors near a baby’s eyes?!
being told after you already have at least once child to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” at least one child is not napping when i want to sleep so what do you do with that ?:)
Very cool! I know there are people who do this, but I just can’t get over the idea of feeding egg yolks to my baby. Yuck!
Meghan´s last blog post…Food and Community
This isn’t advice so much as very questionable logic- my MIL swears that a big head is indicative of future intelligence. Um, I don’t think so.3.
I was suprised how many older women thought my son (even as a newborn and definitely way before he could walk) ought to be wearing shoes.
The strangest advice would have to be put vics on baby’s feet to clear a cold. Just read a study that thoroughly debunked it.
strangest advice=if they don’t crawl they will be bad readers…my son NEVER crawled and walked at 10 months—he is an AMAZING reader! sorry, but that advice has been thrown out the window!!
you can’t spoil a child…ugh…just go to Walmart and watching all the controlling little kids get their way!
Tracy´s last blog post…And now for a completely gratuitous post….
Not to spank your child because we don’t hit people when they are bad as adults. (I think spanking is a personal decision and don’t think someone else should have a say in whether someone does or does not. I do firmly believe in discipline which is entirely different. This person that said this has a very unruly child that they do not give limits to.) Also that I needed an epidural to get thru child birth. I had three children and did not have one even after being begged by nurses to have one. Thankfully my doctor stepped in when they were about to force me into getting one (each time).
Alicia´s last blog post…my nose, my mouth, my chin
i’m not sure if this counts as actual advice, given that it came from my then 4-year-old niece, but when i brought my son home from the hospital, she very seriously informed me that “you don’t skin the baby, okay?” thanks sweetie…i’ll keep that in mind:)
Lauren´s last blog post…big changes..
definitely crying it out… just seems cruel when they’re so little.
That bouncing a baby is a bad idea and a sign of a bad mom. Apparently that mom hadn’t even thought through the fact that babies spend months bouncing inside the womb and might like to continue the tradition after they’re born.
strangest advice = spank your children.
My husband’s grandmother used to rub whiskey on her children when they were cranky!
why didn’t I think of that?!?!?!? Not to cut your babies hair until after they are one. seriously if your boy looks like a girl or they are growing a mullet, cut it. it’s not cute.
don’t spoil an infant by holding them too much. my grandma told my mom this and apparently she followed it. hum. i’m taking he opposite approach. btw, we so need a bumper!
I was told that if I let my baby put weight on his feet when he’s a newborn (like 2-3 months or so), he’ll grow up to be bowlegged! (Seriously?!!)
Beth@RedandHoney´s last blog post…Fiddleheads
The strangest piece of advice I was given was to sleep in my childs room with her for the first year, like to get her used to it or something…. Not happening. I don’t think I would get any sleep at that rate.
don’t give your child solids until 6 months old. . .why?
Chelsi´s last blog post…Special Delivery
To give my children cough syrup to make them sleep! No thanks!
That my baby was fat because he was in the 95%. They didn’t take into account that his head and his height were off the chart. Now he has grown into his body and is a healthy, skinny kid.
MIL said to start solids early…by 6 weeks so she would sleep.
give a child dimatapp to get them to sleep. I couldn’t bring myself to do that!
Wow-I wish they had those when my kids were in a crib!! They are great and they look really cool too!! What a neat idea.
Now as to your question-Strangest Childrearing advice-I can’t say I remember anything to distinct. I probably tuned it out!!
Onna@toddlercraft´s last blog post…Activities For Toddlers
The strangest piece of advice I was given had to do with preparing my body for breastfeeding–I’d rather not go into the details here!
Kristi´s last blog post…Something Divine
My mom always tells us that tickling a baby will make them stutter. Huh? That is up there with the whole if you cross your eyes too much they will stick that way.
My husbands grandma insists that babies first food should be ice cream!
Frozen waffles as teethers. Thing is that it works though.
My mother used to ALWAYS give me such a hard time when she would see my son, or even see pictures of him, and he wasn’t wearing shoes. She thought he needed to be wearing shoes when we left the hospital!!
i was told by several people that breastmilk is not enough for the baby and if i want him to sleep, i should give him formula.
karen´s last blog post…Daily Photos – May 27 2009
Those look SO cool!
I can’t really think of any (other than the joking rum on gums for teething) that was offered seriously. I guess I just didn’t give the bad/weird advice brain space.
Give them sugar to make them stop crying! Crazy! (But then, I don’t have kids…I might end up resorting to it one day!)
Teresa´s last blog post…Yum! Spinach Pasta Toss
The strangest has got to be that you shouldn’t pick up a newborn every time it cries, because you will “spoil” him. Whatever. MY baby gets soothed when he cries.
Jeni´s last blog post…Cradle of Faith
I think the strangest advice I’ve heard was to squirt water on my daughter while trying to potty train her to make her think she’d pee peed in the potty. She actually started crying and wouldn’t sit on the potty for a while. We’re still working through the trauma, but I was desperate.
Charissa´s last blog post…The Night Watchman: Book Review
That children shouldn’t drink any cold liquids!
We didn’t pay much attention to the bad advice, so I guess it just didn’t stick.
John´s last blog post…Episode 47: The Blah in the Middle
The strangest advice I have ever recieved was actually while I was pregnant. A lady suggested I eat lots of okra so during labor the baby could “slide” right out….strange.
My MIL told me after my first was born that we should always put a blanket under him when we hold him so that way he wouldn’t get used to being held. I guess because they can’t feel your skin? Not sure about the logic of it but we never did it
Clara S.´s last blog post…Belated Birthday
someone suggested putting honey on peas to get toddlers to eat them. tried it once and never tried it again!!
tacy´s last blog post…The Home Management Notebook.
They told me to give my 3 month old cereal to help her sleep through the night. It sounded crazy, but it worked for her.
We were having trouble with my toddler biting, so someone told me to bite her back. She never bit me again.
I love those!! When I took our bumper off my 6 month old keeps getting his little limbs stuck in the rails and wakes up screaming! I put the bumper back on.
Strange advice… a few things. 1. My in laws swear that giving chamomile tea will cure anything from not sleeping through the night to acid reflux. I did not try it. I sure got sick of hearing it. The other advice which cracks me up is putting frozen peas on your breasts to relieve the pain. :0) I didn’t try this one… only because I forgot.
I’m laughing at some of the advice in these comments! My baby is only 11 months, and I can’t really think of any weird advice I have been given (thankfully!) Although, people do keep asking me if/when my dd is going to be on a “schedule” for feedings.
Dip the pacifier in sugar to make the baby stop crying. I tried it, and it worked… but it seems so unhealthy!!
I can’t think of any bad advice I have been given. This looks like a wonderful product!
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