Moms are faced with criticisms basically any time they do anything. Whether they are posting too much or not enough on social media, how their kid dresses, the schools they go to, and basically any choice a parent has to make is constantly second-guessed by someone in their lives.
But now one mom has taken a stand and posted something that she hopes will "cut parents some slack" as they raise their kids.
The problem is one that parents are faced with every winter. They know they have to go out into the cold at some point, but getting their kids all bundled up can be tricky, especially these days.
The post was published on Reddit by MindyS1719 and it explains why people need to stop shaming parents for not putting coats on their kids when they are outside in their car seats in the winter.
It reads:
A winter PSA to anyone who hasn't had a baby in the last 5(ish) years:
If you're out and about and see a parent with a baby/toddler who isn't wearing a coat, pleeeeease [sic] don't assume that parent is some kinda [sic] monster who doesn't care if their kids freeze.
New car seat guidelines avidly warn against children wearing coats in car sears - and this makes it really challenging for caregivers (particularly those with multiple small children) to get kids out of the house then in the car then out of the car again and into the destination.
She goes on to explain how every parent tries to find their own solution, but there really isn't one definitive "right" way yet.
Seriously it's chaos. And since there's not a great commercial product to solve this issue yet, everyone comes up with their own solutions. Some use blankets. Some use lots of warm layers/hats/gloves. Some (God bless them) do the coat-shuffle at every stop and decided their kid would survive the 12 second walk from the car into Best Buy without the bubble coat.
He overall plea is that people stop chasing down parents to yell at them.
So what I'm saying is, cut parents some slack. We're trying. And we're doing everything we can to make sure our kids are warm while maintaining what's left of our sanity. Thanks.
Immediately after posting this message, hundreds of people commented on the times they were harassed by strangers over how they were handling their children.
They pointed out that not only were they getting comments about winter coats, but even what their kids wore in the summer months.
"I had a lady harass me for probably 3 minutes at Costco [because] my kids were both wearing tank tops (in the 98 degree, Louisiana summer heat) in the meat section of Costco. Apparently I should have brought them jackets in for the 1 minute we spent in Costco meat department. She even felt the need to point out that I was dressed warmer than them ([because] I was wearing short sleeve, hahaha) & if I was dressed warmly.. they should have been too. Her harassment just kept them cold 3 times as long."
Some moms have shared their clever trick of making a little fleece poncho that fits over the entire car seat, while others mentioned that needed to send this advice to their mother-in-laws.
"Yes! I need to send this to my [mother-in-law]. Also he doesn't need boots on. He can't walk. It's hard enough to get him to keep his socks on."
Consumer Reports has a two step process to check if your child's coat is too big to wear in their car seat.
Step 1: Put the coat on your child, sit him or her in the car seat and fasten the harness. Tighten the harness until you can no longer pinch any of the webbing with your thumb and forefinger.
Step 2: Without loosening the harness at all, unhook it and remove your child from the car seat. Take the coat off, put your child back in the car seat, and buckle the harness straps, which should be adjusted just as they were when the child was wearing the coat.
If you can pinch the webbing between your thumb and forefinger now, then the coat is too bulky to be worn under the harness.
So maybe think twice before you comment on how warm or cold you think a baby is, because chances are, their parent has it under control.
Source - Reddit / Working Mother / Scary Mommy
