So, I took the kidlet to get her 1 year old immunizations (yes, I know, I'm a little behind schedule), and besides sitting there, holding her arms down while the evil nurse hurt her, I also got some hand outs about child development and such.
Apparently, I'm still a bad mother. Even though I stopped giving my kid a bottle to go to sleep with, I'm still risking rotting the teeth out of my child's head.
Among other "activities (that) will help (me) play (my) part in (my) child's growth and development", these few tell me I'm a bad mother: (As said by my child's point of view?)
1) When I drink 2 cups of pastuerized homo cow's milk daily, you can stop giving me Vitamin D.
2) I need the calcium in milk at meal times and only water between meals and at night to help prevent cavities!
3) If I drink from a bottle, please give me a cup now.
Addressing these issues:
1) Um? Two cups of milk a day? Oh... you mean the four-five cups you're already drinking might be too much? Whoops! And Vitamin D? Was I supposed to be giving you Vitamin D? Oh, I think I might remember something about that... whoops!
2) Just at meal times? Oh, ok, so apparently your teeth are going to rot and fall out of your head because not only do I let you drink your milk between meals, but I also give you juice! *gasp* AND, I make sure you drink a full bottle of milk before bed so that you don't wake up hungry in the middle of the night! (Yes, I'm brushing her teeth afterwards.)
3) Ok, so we've tried this one... And Darlin' you just won't give in! Sippy cups for juice and water, bottles for milk. You've made this abundantly clear to me. I tried again tonight, and you fussed and moaned, and would NOT drink your milk until I put it in a bottle! I'm blaming YOU for this one if your teeth rot!
And there you have it. Every time I see an "expert" about anything, I find out that I'm such a bad mother. They tell you there's no manual on how to raise children, yet I keep on getting told I'm doing it wrong! What's a mother to do?
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6 comments:
Ignore them. What your health care professionals don't know won't hurt them, and the stuff they are fussing about certainly won't hurt your child. If the milk tastes better out of a bottle (and it evidently does) and the juice and water taste better out of sippy cups (and juice in a sippy cup doesn't end up on the floor!), I say stick with what is working.
Forget it. You know what? By the time I was six, I had like 5 cavities and a couple absesses in my mouth. I had to have a bunch of teeth pulled because I had never been to the dentist. I didn`t like brushing my teeth so I tricked my mom into thinking I did it, and she gave me as much milk and juice as I wanted. Now, this all sounds terrible, but the point is that NONE of this had a lasting effect! I had absolutely no cavities in my adult teeth between age 5 (when they started to come in) and age 24 (when I finally developed a tiny cavity because I don`t floss often enough). Furthermore... calcium is good for the kid! She`ll thank you when she`s old and doesn`t have osteoporosis!
A year and 2 months? You're RIGHT ON TIME with those baby immunizations! They don't expect you to come in on her birthday!
You seem very sensitive - nobody is trying to tell you that you are a bad mother...even public health professionals don't follow every little guideline. Take it all with a grain of salt.
You are obviously a great mom if you are concerned about your little one and WANT to learn and do everything you can to keep her healthy and happy.
I've seen you with baby, and you do a great job. She's a lucky babe, and the next one will be too!
(I want to erase it because it's sappy, but it's true, so I'll leave it :)
Melora~I think I WILL stick with what's working. I mean, I DO brush those teeth, and it's not the end of the world if she gets a cavity.
Pink~Ha ha, yeah, thanks.
Sarah~Well, I'm glad your mouth turned out ok in the end, but I sure hope my kid doesn't end up with a bunch of cavities. One or two, ok, but a whole mouth? That'd suck!
Trica~Thanks! And coming from a NURSE too! Awesome!
It kind of did suck at the time. But I don't have a fear of dentists as a result or anything, even though the idiot didn't freeze my face properly and I felt them yanking out my teeth.
But ya know, to some degree, the development of cavities has a lot to do with the makeup of the teeth themselves, which is genetic. Some people get cavities even though they take care of their teeth well, and others never have any problems even though they're really sloppy about their dental care.
Sarah~You're right, it does have to do with genetics too.. but still, I'm not going to let her know that.. she needs to brush!
Laurie~Thanks, doll!
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