13 of the Weirdest Parenting Tips New Moms Have Gotten Through the Years
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If you thought you were victim to unsolicited advice while you were trying to get pregnant, that's nothing compared to all of the "gems" you hear once people know that you're officially a mom-to-be. Pretty much as soon as your pregnancy is announced, it can feel like the flood gates have opened with tons of tips constantly pouring in — whether you ask for them or not. Whether they're myths, family traditions, or cultural superstitions, here are some nontraditional pieces of parenting advice that new moms hear — and don't always take.
Chew your baby’s food and then spit it so you can try introducing new foods before they have teeth.
Long before Alicia Silverstone made headlines by posting a video showing her son eating pre-chewed food from her mouth, an older generation of moms used this as a way to make new foods edible for babies.
Stick your finger up your baby’s butt to help with constipation.
Another version of this old-fashioned tip is to use a Q-Tip.
Bite your baby's nails if you’re nervous about using the clippers.
Some moms used this method before baby clippers were mainstream.
Squirt breast milk in your baby's eye to help with the gunk and crust.
This alternative use of breast milk might seem surprising but there are many moms who also use breast milk as a natural way to treat pink eye and other eye infections.
Rub whiskey on your baby's gums to help with teething.
This tip has been passed down through generations of families spanning different cultures.
Put a thread on your baby's head to stop hiccups.
Some people swear by this West Indian trick to cure little hiccups.
Put butter on little owies to prevent them from bruising.
This might seem like and old wives' tale, but it actually does do the trick because of the fat found in butter. This high concentration of phosphate helps prevent bleeding into the tissue after an accident.
Put a little bit of coffee in your baby's bottle to help them sleep.
This old wives' tale believed that caffeine makes babies sleepy because they process it differently. But this theory doesn't seem to have any medical backings.
Tie a piece of raw beef to your baby's belly button with a red string to prevent infection.
This piece of advice could work in the sense that meat is also full of phosphate, which — like the butter trick — helps with healing, but the red string aspect is purely superstition.
Rub your baby’s tummy with your own saliva to help with colic.
Belly rubs often help relieve tummy troubles, like trapped gas that causes babies to cry, but using saliva seems just to be an unscientific tradition.
Put chopped-up onions on your baby’s foot and put a sock on it to reduce their fever.
Some people swear by this theory that onions have the ability to absorb illness — people even used it in the 1900s to fight off the plague.
Blow into your baby's mouth to get all of the nasal gunk out.
Before parents had a bulb syringe or a handy snot sucker, this was a trick put to the test by many moms with congested babies.
Have them blow bubbles while on the potty to help them poop.
Not only does this give your little one something to do, but it can also help their sphincter muscles to naturally relax.