Parenting tips

In an effort to try to get Emma to be able to fall back to sleep on her own in the middle of the night I consulted the baby guru, Dr. Sears. I'm still not sure why, but I expected an impartial report of some of the tricks of the trade along with a good dose of advice based on research. What I got not only surprised me, but flat out made me angry. Instead of advice from a well-trusted source, I got preached at and belittled by my own browser. When listing pro's and con's of different sleep "training" techniques it is pretty clear to see which one is preferred by the author. Rather than just listing the pro's of the self-soothing technique it lists the "so-called advantages." Then when discussing the other method of "parent soothing" it refers to the "so-called disadvantages." What ever happened to presenting impartial facts and letting people decide what works for them and their families? I confess I use a weird blend of the two methods so maybe that's why I'm getting all riled up over the negativity of the website. When did the "professionals" decide that we the general public are too stupid to figure out how to parent our children? Why must I be preached at and told that I am ruining my baby by not immediately hopping out of bed at the first whimper? I know I went looking for advice so I mostly deserve what I got, but I was hoping for a little teensy bit of impartiality. I am a scientist, I like facts. I like to look at the facts weigh the "so-called" pro's and con's myself and make an informed decision. What about the desperately sleep deprived parent that stumbles across this advice and is too lost or too tired to call BS on it? Imagine being told by trusted source that you are doing it all wrong and that you are doing irreparable mental harm to your baby. Do you feel like crap? Yea, me too. Us poor noobs are doing the best we can. We read the books, even when each books gives us totally contradicting information, we check the websites, we talk to our friends and parents. We try so hard to do the best job we can and to belittle our efforts angers me beyond belief.

So to my fellow noobs out there, keep up the good work! Humans have been raising children for 1000's of years with no help from the "experts". You are the expert, no one else knows your baby the way you do. No one else can tell you that what you know in your heart/gut to be the best thing for your baby is not the best thing for your baby. Remember to take advice with a grain of salt. Be selective about the advice you take to heart or even listen to. When in doubt, go with your gut.