I always enjoy reading threads on the forums on Mothering.com. You find a subset of parenting that has some quirks, to put it mildly. Here are some fun threads I found. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Extended breastfeeding

There’s the extended breastfeeding crowd and by extended breastfeeding, in this case, it means way, way past infancy. (LO refers to Little One.)

What a wonderful post, I’m so glad to have found it! My LO is nearing 5 with no signs of interest in weaning. For the time being I’m ok with it (even kind of scientifically interested, like “left to his own preferences, WILL child actually ever to choose to wean?” lol)

5 years old? That seems like a long time to nurse. But she got topped by this:

I’m 44, have been nursing for 6+ years, still nursing. My son is almost 3 and my daughter is 6. I nurse both, although the son is still a pretty heavy nurser and the daughter is just cursory nurse before bed, like a comfort routine.

and this:

After 6.5 years, my child gradually slowed down to a few sessions a week, then month, then stopped eventually.

Unschooling

Here’s an unschooling thread that’s a little concerning. Unschooling like homeschooling, but without any structure. Would you be concerned about this child? I have to admit that I’m a little worried.

We’ve unschooled, more or less, for about five years and none of my kids are confident writers. The younger two are probably on par with their age mates, but the oldest (12) – I don’t even think he knows what a sentence is, or how to write one. When going to use caps, punctuation – nada. He is an avid reader of manga and gaming manuals. And don’t get me started on his handwriting – it probably compares with that of a second grader.

Unassisted Childbirth

Unassisted childbirth (UC) is birth at home, without any assistance from a midwife or other medical professional.

I am preparing for my second UC (baby is due Friday) and I have some last minute things to sort out. I was wondering what anyone would do in a situation where a baby swallows or breathes in meconium water. Also, what is the best way to cut an umbilical cord? Do you have to clamp both sides? And what would be some warning signs for needing to go to a hospital?

See, when you have a midwife or go to the hospital, they have all of this information. Also, if the baby breathes in meconium, you need to get that baby to a hospital, stat.

So if DH agrees to a UC, if I tear, how do we deal with that? Does DH have to learn to stitch it up if it’s too big?

The problem here is that amateurs should not be stitching. A midwife could totally handle this situation. So could a doctor.

Vaccines

Vaccines are always a popular topic on Mothering, which has a strong anti-vaccine contingent. During a discussion of how doctors like to manipulate people into vaccinating, someone posted this:

Scare tactics, bullying, and fearmongering come to mind…..the dr. will intimidate the parent, laying out the worst scene possible for the parent to imagine, and BAM!, the scare tactic worked and the parent agreed to vax. What other propaganda have  you seen used to coerce parents?

I’m tempted to answer “statistics.” Here’s one of the replies she received:

When I declined hep B at birth the pediatrician told me this awful story about a 2 yr old getting hep B from a needle he found playing in his front yard……….We never went back to that doc.

Way to stay strong there, lady.

 

 

Picture via Flickr.

Christa T. Palmer (241 Posts)

Christa T. Palmer is a mother of 2 small children who lives in Colorado. She worked in the corporate world for more than a decade, but she was laid off the day after returning from maternity leave. Since then, she has worked as a freelance writer.