The Differences Between Me and My Children (what I know now that my mom didn't)

[Krajcimama]

I was thinking the other day about all of the differences between how I was raised and how I am raising my children.  There are good and bad differences and I started to notice some of them right away when my mother would tell me stories about my infancy and childhood. 

 

For example - simply the Back to Sleep difference!  I spent most of my early life lying on my stomach!  My parents were told that was the best way for me to sleep because I wouldn't aspirate if I spit up.  Makes sense, right?  Now we know that it's actually very important to put babies to sleep on their backs and keep them off of their stomachs!  There are studies that show a decrease in SIDS when babies sleep on their backs.  It was explained to me that when babies sleep on their stomachs before their neck muscles are developed they often can't move their head and with their face being close to the mattress they often breath in more CO2 than Oxygen and that could be a cause of SIDS.  It was also explained to me that babies will turn their heads enough on their backs that they will not aspirate if they spit up. 

 

Then there is the Whole Milk difference.  I was drinking Whole Milk out of a bottle by the time I was 4 months old.  Before that I had formula - Similac, I believe.  Now we know that breast milk is best for babies.  Both my children were nursed for the first few months of their lives, but with my daughter I had to formula feed her after 4 months.  It never entered my mind to give her Whole Milk at that age because I knew that you don't give you children milk until they are a year old.  Why?  We've learned that cow's milk just isn't the same as Mama Milk.  It doesn't have the same nutrients, fat or calories that breast-milk and formula provide that are essential for babies.  It's also high in sodium and the proteins in cow's milk can upset baby's tummy.  Not to mention the lactose intolerance!

 

There are so many differences in what I do for my children every day that it's amazing I survived my early childhood to have my own children.  We are learning more and more every day about how to make our lives and our children's lives better.  It wasn't until recently that I discovered another way to protect my children from something  I didn't even know would hurt them.  I recently learned about buying safer and more ecofriendly products for my home.  I learned about the toxins that were in the products I was already using.  Things like Quaternium 15 which is a known formaldehyde releaser and formaldehyde is a carcinogen - this is in the baby wash I used to bath my babies since they were born!  Then there are the Clorox Wipes I've been using everyday to wipe down their toys and exersaucers and jumpy chairs...I was under the impression that the wipes were safe, but they actually contain a pesticide called Dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride!  These are just 2 examples of products I use to use in my home that could have had some long term effects on my children's health.  I was actually surprised I hadn't thought about checking into it before - I mean after all if something as simple as placing my son and daughter on their back to sleep had changed since I was born then you would think that they would have discovered something safer than Comet to clean the bathtub and kitchen sink!

 

I'm now using safer products that are not only more ecofriendly (because they are concentrated and have no caustic chemicals) but they work wonderfully and are more economical!  I think the thing that I am most excited about is that my children are going to grow up with these products and not only won't be exposed to chemicals that could effect them in ways I can't see with my naked eye, but they will most likely use these same products in their homes for years to come . . . which will mean that my grandchildren will be safe as well!   -  Of course, with a 2 and 1 year old I shouldn't be thinking grandchildren, yet!  :)

 

If you are interested in learning more about the products I am using in my home feel free to fill out this form and I will contact you to tell you more!  

 

Anyone else have any stories of what your mother did that you didn't do with your kids?  Any stories about how you told your mom she was "wrong"?  That was a tough one with my mom - who kept insisting that my kids should sleep on their bellies!   

[doubledsmommy]

Mar. 5, 2008 at 9:01 AM

This is so true. There were so many things my Grandmother let me do that were unsafe. I'm surprised I survived childhood.