The next person to take up my guest author request is the blogger behind Baby Loves Books, mum of one and one of my oldest friends, Rupa Raman. Here she is, asking you what’s the worst parenting faux pas you have ever committed.
When Lavz asked me to post on the topic of ‘child safety’, the voice in my head went,”You’ve.got.to.be.kidding me!” and I have no idea why I agreed. Here’s the thing: Not only am I not qualified to write on child safety or anything remotely close, I am, in fact, on the verge of being included in the Clumsy New Mom’s Safety Handbook, under the section titled How to Keep Baby Safe – When Mom is Around.
Hmm…child safety. Child friendly. Where should I begin?
* How about the time I accidentally locked myself out of the car, leaving my 8-month old strapped to her car seat, inside, alone? Boy, did I spend the longest 15 minutes of my life waiting for the locksmith to arrive!
* Or the time when my 6-month old had her immunization shots and, eager to relieve her discomfort I gave her an overdose of infant fever medicine. (Although the nurse later assured me that the quantity I had given was well within the safety limits – not really an overdose)
* Need I even tell you about my first attempt at helping my daughter wear her bicycle helmet, when I nicked her neck while tightening the strap?
Don’t get me wrong. I am all for parents taking full responsibility for their children. I assure you I am one of those parents despite what I’ve just shared. But, truth be told, keeping a child safe is no easy task these days with or without a parent to watch over.
Step into a mall and you never know when a lunatic will decide to unleash fire arms. Send kids to daycare and Junior’s best buddy is likely to share everything with her, including the latest exotic virus doing the rounds. With roller coasters falling off their tracks at amusement parks and sharks attacking swimmers at the beach, where on the planet can you take your kids so they can be safe and happy at the same time? Let’s say you decide to keep them home. Voila! A sea of plastic toys, (who knows how many contaminated with ‘toxic lead paint’), welcomes them. Plug in the television, DVDs or video games and you get an earful about how screen time impairs their development. Take them out to eat and you risk turning them into obese tweens.
So, you see, although I’m not particularly proud of some of the times I inadvertently put my daughter’s safety at risk and granted. But whilst I may not be the most eligible candidate to write about child safety, I’m pretty sure I’m not alone.
I challenge you to show me a parent who has never accidentally bumped her baby’s head against a wall, given her a lead-painted toy to chew on or one who has never left his baby unattended on the bed just for a teeny bit (and it’s very likely that the baby who hadn’t as much as tried to lift a toe until that point somehow decided to roll over for the first time and crashed head first onto the floor at that precise moment.)
So, if you’re a parent reading this – out with it! What is the most embarrassing/worst parenting faux pas you dare to own up to? Do share so we know we aren’t the only ones guilty of parenting oversights and parent-induced boo-boos. And hopefully we can learn from each other’s experience.
As for me, in the 3 years and 11 months that I’ve spent learning the ropes of parenting, I’ve discovered that no matter what the safety ratings on a product says and no matter how big a fortune you spend on baby-proofing your house, there really is no such thing as 100% baby safe. And I now know why they say keeping kids safe has less to do with intelligently designed products and a whole lot more to do with mom’s instincts…even if she’s a little absent-minded.
Article by Rupa Raman
The author in NYC with her daughter M
A voracious reader herself, Rupa Raman believes that reading to children regularly enriches their lives, expands horizons and changes attitudes. In her blog, she writes about everything from Karadi Tales to her love of picture books. Visit her blog at Baby Loves Books today!
So… who’s going to start owning up? Come on! What’s the worst mommy-related thing you’ve ever done?
Okay in my 11 yrs of parenting, I have had many but lets share one of the firsts.
I was a new mom out with my 16 months old infant. She was bottled fed at that time. We were at the mall and she started screaming.I found an empty bench and sat down. I took out, one of those pre-mmeasured containers that has 3 divided sections all packed with the desired amount of milk powder. (Screaming baby, remember) unscrew the bottle top. A few passerby looking at me. I poured the water, unscrew the cap of the milk powder and then proceed to dump the powder all over and the baby who was in the car seat on the ground. Out comes of my mouth a very loud F!CK! A family of 4 with young kids walking by, the mom gives me the dirtest look and the dad just ignores me. Its been 11 yrs and I somehow still carry this incident in my mind.
Let’s move on to stranger things, Ashwina at 2.5 yr olds put 3-4 pieces of chewed up sticker up her nostril. Her ped couldnt get it out and so we had to go to a ENT specialist. That guy charges me for USD$250 for a 10 min appt. 5 yrs old later, her younger brother puts boiled egg white up his nostril. this time, I closed one nostril, and asked him blow and eggwhite comes out.
Will end my novel here!
WHOA! You deserve a medal, you do, for skillfully managing FOUR kids. Hats off, S!
Worst safety-related blooper. One stands out. When Ayaan fell out of a cot. Documented here
Oh yes I have heard of this from you and read it. No way I am confessing to my sins though!