It's amazing humanity survived!
Being a parent is one of the toughest gigs on the planet, especially the first time round!
You're basically just fumbling your way through the whole experience, picking up little hacks along the way.
And then there's all the advice you receive from everyone who has vocal cords...all of which probably contradicts with some other piece of parenting advice you may have read on one of the 1,000,000 parenting advice websites out there.
Good or bad, there's no shortage of advice for parents in the 21st century.
But imagine for a moment what it was like for parents before every cough or sneeze from your little one could be run past doctor google.
Back in the day parenting advice was even more confusing and contradictory than it is today.
So to make you feel better about the job you're doing, here's 10 pieces of the weirdest parenting advice from the last 100 years.
1910s: Think happy thoughts!
This one was for all the mums-to-be of the 1910s, who were told that if they wanted to have a beautiful baby, then they had to avoid thinking ugly things!
Because DNA can tell what you're thinking, you know...
1910s: Angry breast milk is bad
Breastfeeding mothers were given a stern warning in 1916: Don't feed while you are angry, or else you'll have a colicky baby.
Again, we're sure science (and common logic) would have something to say about this.
1920s: The great outdoors
Fresh air is great (and the air was probably a whole lot fresher back then than it is now).
But in the 1920s, this thought was taken to the extreme when experts advised parents to keep their kids outside all day.
The entire day!
1930s: Poached, scrambled or fried?
According to this piece of advice, at 2 days of age wee ones can start eating cereal.
At 10 days, they could have strained vegetables, and by 9 weeks old, the little one would be eating “bacon and eggs, just like Dad!”
1940s: Back away from the wireless
In 1947, a pamphlet published by the Canadian government warned women not to listen to the radio at loud volumes.
The reason? They could simply get far too excited.
Obviously we think radio is pretty exciting too... But contrary to this advice, we'd like to wholeheartedly encourage all our pregnant listeners to keep tuning in to iRadio.
1960s: Cuppa joe?
In a 1962 book, Dr. Walter Sackett recommended giving black coffee to babies starting at 6 months of age... There is just so much that seems wrong with this idea.
And the fact that baby will be awake until all hours is just one of them.
Fun fact! This is actually the same guy from weird parenting tip 4! The bacon and eggs guy, he's just full of great ideas.
1960s: Doctor's orders
In what shocks us still to this day, a 1966 edition of an obstetrics textbook said that expectant mothers could "safely" smoke up to half a pack of cigarettes a day.
1970s: Bathing is overrated
OK we except that maybe in 1870's access to bathing may have been limited for some people... But the The 1970s?!
In 1972, Mother & Baby magazine suggested only washing your baby twice a week.
The logic? ‘If you insist that your baby should be always sweet and dry and clean, washing him often with meticulous thoroughness, you are going against nature. Babies are easygoing about a little dampness.’
Easygoing? Babies are probably the least chill out of all of us!
1980s: No Video Games
In the '80s, two things temporarily joined the long list of things pregnant women were to avoid: Computers and video games.
Because not only must you swell to the size of an inflated beach ball, you must not engage in any form of enjoyment whatsoever. Period.
1990s: Baby Mozart
You still often hear of this one today in fairness... But in the 90s a small study showed that listening to Mozart improved test scores.
So naturally parents-to-be ordered Mozart CDs for their babies to listen to... while still in the womb.
Because, logic.
