Stuff you've learned from unexpected sources

[pookel]

I always say that even people whose parenting practices I mostly disagree with may have *something* to offer, so I was just thinking: what have you learned from people you otherwise disagree with?

My kind, but very much non-AP, MIL taught me that you don't always have to find the source of a baby's distress; sometimes it's more effective to distract him and cheer him up instead of frantically checking if he's cold/wet/hungry/uncomfortable/etc. Not that you should ignore his needs, but sometimes he's just in a bad mood, and changing him and feeding him and trying to "fix it" may just put him in a worse mood.

Kinda similar, from my VERY non-AP dad, I learned that sometimes you don't need to rock and bounce and sing to a baby who needs calming down. It can be very effective to just hold him and sit still with him, or walk around slowly, and be a calming presence.

And from John Rosemond, the parenting advice columnist whose advice I usually despise, I got the idea that less is more when it comes to toys - sometimes having too much stuff just makes it harder for them to find something to do.

There is probably at least *something* good even in Ezzos' books (on the premise that a broken clock is right twice a day ...), but I haven't been able to stomach reading them, so I can't offer anything there!

[Jillie]

It was John Rosemond who first planted the idea in my mind to watch for potty training cues early, earlier that I ever would have. Both of my girls were potty trained (well timed really, as it was more ec and timing than them doing it themselves). It worked well for us, and I'm glad we did it. It made the transisition to truly being self relient much easier, as they went thru a 'no' phase when most people would have started training, but since it was something we had already started, it was just done, so less 'no'.