Sure, your life was filled with concerns, trepidations, and worries before you had kids, but now that you’re a parent and responsible for another person’s life you are more dubious and cautious than ever. There are just far too many things that parents have to consider when raising kids. Mums and dads are quite literally tasked with micromanaging a handful of facets of their kid’s life. As a result, parents often try to micromanage and worry about every facet of their kid’s life.
Well, we’re here to tell you to “take a chill pill”, parents! There are some things in life that you really needn’t worry about as a parent. Today, we’re going to take a look at 5 of the things parents don’t need to lose any sleep over. So sit back, ease up, and take a load off, Mum and Dad!
1. Purchasing organic foods
For a long time now, mass media and society as a whole has developed the idea that organic food is the only viable option for providing your family with nutrition. Even worse, they’ve cultivated a false understanding of how organic and conventional foods are grown/produced.
The organic industry-funded EWG, in control of radical marketing campaigns in their own favor, has been filling the public consciousness with pseudoscientific research that simply can’t be interpreted as fact. One of their biggest shortcomings is failing to inform the public that organic farmers use pesticides just like conventional farmers. This is one of the main reasons many choose to buy organic in the first place, so you can see why many would find such a fact disconcerting.
Furthermore, many concerned parents pay high prices for organic foods because they believe that the food they’re buying is healthier and more nutritious. We’re still waiting on the definitive research to support that claim. Though, many scientists believe that because of the added nutrients and vitamins in GMOs, that organic may arguably be less nutritious.
(if you’re interested in learning more on these topics, click here, here, or here)
Learn more things parents don’t need to lose sleep over by clicking next for more!
2. Breastfeeding or formula?
Sure, breastfeeding has been touted by paediatricians as the most beneficial source of food for a baby. Which means it’s probably worth trying out if you’re able to do so. However, for mums who are unable to provide breastmilk for their babies, needn’t stress out or lose their cool.
Formulas nowadays are so comparable that it’s hard to tell the difference sometimes. All of the available products on the market are safe and nutritious, and scientists and researchers carefully regulate the composition to be almost identical to breastmilk.
Another thing to consider before stressing out over not being able to breastfeed to your heart’s desire, is that all data pointing towards breastfeeding being more beneficial, fail to mention the numerous variables. For example, many of the women who were analysed in many studies were of varying socioeconomic levels. So, factors like level of education, smoking vs non-smoking, accessibility to health care, and wealth are not factored in as they should be.
3. Excessive crying
From the moment your child enters the world you’ll be exposed to a fair share of crying. It’s completely natural and expected of every baby. As time goes by, you’ll be more experienced in the field of “waterworks”. You’ll know what cry means what, and why it’s happening.
This gained insight on how or why your kid is crying has led many parents to try the “cry-it-out” method. Many parents, however, stress out each and every time their kids cry and simply worry too much about it. Well, parents, the fact of the matter is that letting your baby cry-it-out is actually one of the most effective sleep training methods for infants. We’re not saying ignore your infants. We’re just saying that you don’t need to leap to your feet and nurture your abby each and every time they get fussy at 4AM.
Image source: Shutterstock
4. Monitoring screen-time
Let’s be clear here: there are better things your kids can be doing than mindlessly staring into the screen of a phone, TV, or tablet. However, you should be aware that (like some of the other entrees) much of the data supporting the negative effects of screen time is still infantile. In fact, most studies fail to take note of important variables.
For example, Emily Oster of FiveThirtyEight believes that the studies aren’t randomised at all, and fail to emphasise variables all together. She writes: “In the general population, kids who watch a lot of TV — especially at young ages — tend to be poorer, are more likely to be members of minority groups and are more likely to have parents with less education. All these factors independently correlate with outcomes such as executive function, test scores and obesity, making it difficult to draw strong conclusions about the effects of television from this research.”
Don’t let your kids binge watch or spend a concerning amount of time in front of the TV or on their cellphones, but you don’t need to be ridiculously cautious of them using such gadgets or outlets. Be sure to keep them active, and engage them in other types of mentally stimulating activities and they’ll be just fine.
5. Vaccine or no vaccine
Probably the most debated topic on this list of entrees, and I honestly have no idea why. Countless experts in the medical field and scientific community have praised the necessity of vaccines and have worked to disassociate vaccines from alleged side-effects like autism and Asperger’s syndrome.
Well, there was little to support the idea that vaccines cause such health problems to begin with, and we’re still waiting for a definitive scientific finding that 100% backs these claims. In the meantime, parents should be considerate of what vaccines do: protect your kids from a myriad of life-threatening ailments.
As we’ve seen many times thus far, most of the data supporting the purported claims of the unvaccinated come from studies in which little to no variables are taken into account. Until studies arise that can disprove the efficacy of vaccines, parents shouldn’t overthink or lose sleep over whether or not they should vaccinate children.
[H/T] Forbes
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