Crowd-sourced parenting is now a thing! Adil's being raised almost solely on Google search results and the collective wisdom of the world wide web.
Yesterday, Google informed me that my son had lost interest in food, because he's two-and-a-half, and that's what two-and-a-half-year-olds do. Last week, my favorite Facebook moms group, gave me the lowdown on potty training (ugh!) I ask, and the internet delivers. (Actually, it almost aways over delivers and I spend hours sifting through endless gigabytes of data, to make sense of it all.)
Living half a world away from family, as we do, there's a great reassurance in knowing that I'm just one click away from good ol' mommy advice.
But the net can be an equally precarious and toxic zone. When I switched Adil to formula, I was very nearly convinced that I was poisoning my fragile, precious, little infant. The inexplicable and insane shaming of moms, breast-feeding in public, inhibited me from ever even giving it a try.
I guess taking internet advice is not that different from asking for your mother's opinion, on parenting - listen to what works for you and take the rest with a pinch of salt. Babies are meant to be on low-sodium diets, anyhow!
you're so right deepa! we are lucky to have access to this amazing source of info which mothers even 5-6 years ago didn't have. the community of moms online is empathetic and compassionate, helpful and wise...but it is also very judgemental and opinionated. Formula vs breastfeeding is one of the most emotional debates out there and very confusing! I've learned in this last year that there is really no right or wrong- just what's right for ME. and I've learned to trust my instincts like never before!
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