Why I let my 8 Month Old Baby Choose to Wear Shorts in Winter (And Other Stupid Baby Warnings)

Everyone knows that babies at 8 months old have the cognitive ability to make choices on their own. Rather than hold my baby back from making those decisions, I have decided to allow her to unleash her potential by choosing what she wants to wear.

Only 20 degrees out and she chooses shorts? No worries, she will learn and not do it next time. I am just fostering her ability to be confident in decisions later in life, right?

Don’t fret, I am full of shit and not really doing this.

For real though, I am sure this suggestion is probably out there somewhere. Yep, probably in a psychologist-backed article about how making too many decisions for our infants causes them permanent damage in the long run. We have all read those stupid baby warning articles, right?

This morning, I came across an article on Facebook about “Baby Container Syndrome.” (Yeah, get ready for this one.) It states that we as parents are now causing permanent damage to our babies by utilizing tools like swings, bouncers, and jumparoos.

Great stuff right?

Creating Fear with Stupid Baby Warnings

Now the soon-to-be new mom is terrified to use anything in her registry because all of it will be detrimental to her child. Why? Because everyday another stupid baby warning is released that does not apply to the majority of the population. Yet this warning strikes fear in the hearts of new parents everywhere.

I mean, seriously, look around in the media. Nowadays you are going to damage your baby in just about everything you do with them.

“Don’t hold your baby too much, but make sure you are holding them enough.”

“Do not place your child in “restrictive containers” but also make sure you put your baby down and walk away when you are overwhelmed.”

“Do not feed your baby any kind of solid foods before 6 months, but also don’t get diagnosed failure to thrive because the baby is not gaining fast enough.”

“Breast is best and formula is poison, but your doctor wants you to supplement. “

“Keep your baby close at night to promote bonding, but do not co-sleep or room share because it will create dependency.”

How exactly do we expect new moms to not be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder immediately upon delivery?

Deciphering the Truth

So here is my dilemma.

It seems like no matter what we do with our children in today’s world, someone out there is going to call us on it and tell us that we are wrong. Those stupid baby warnings telling us not to do common sense things with our kids are all over everywhere. Super awesome when we have fragile, young moms out there who just need some support, right?

The problem is, while there is some truth found in the majority of these statements that are being made, a lot of this is overkill for your run-of-the-mill mom. In all reality, putting your child in a bouncer for an hour to entertain them while you vacuum floors is not going to cause permanent damage so you are mindful of your child. In order for your child to develop many of the issues that are being blasted all over social media, a great deal of neglect occurs as well. Don’t want your baby to have a flat head? Do not leave them on their back or in a “container” all day every day. Common sense right?

The way that the media has portrayed so many of these issues however, is that you must keep your baby in a “free to learn, free of danger, free of gluten, non-GMO, pro-breastfeeding, pet and dust free, all-natural, organic, fully supervised but not too close environment” at all times so that you can raise your child to be the best person that they can be.

Come on moms. Let’s get real.

 To the New Mommas: Don’t Believe Every Stupid Baby Warning You See

So while the majority of this has been a rant, now I will get to the skinny of it.

Mommas, you can do all the research in the world about how to bring your baby up the right way, but all you are going to do is work yourself into a complex.  Honestly, there is no one “right way” to raise a baby, and no one correct environment to keep them in. You are always going to find someone who can argue for or against your strategy, and that is ok. Really, even the latest stupid baby warning is not directed at you but is more of something for you to ponder.

What you need to do is take a step back. Look at the choice you are making and analyze whether there really is a detrimental issue with what you are doing.

For instance, should my 8-month-old be able to eat grass in the yard? No, probably not. But the one or two blades that she managed to put into her mouth while I was tending to her older brother was not going to kill her. If we keep our babies in this “plastic bubble” of a world in order to conform to all of the dangers that society tells us about, then our children are never going to have real-life experiences.

I mean, come on, we ate dirt and played in contained play yards, and we turned out just fine, right?

What “Mommy Do Nots”  or stupid baby warnings have you heard about recently that have sent your head spinning? Let me know below!